Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins
by SuperMastour
Summary: After a stranger comes in for help and reveals to her her hidden potential, Lian takes to an adventure of a lifetime in order to stop a sinister villain bent on destroying the world with her new power and her new allies. They will face many dangerous enemies, but will their bonds grow strong and pull them through? Main Characters: Lian, Furia, Lex, Zhin, Moji. NEW CHAPTERS UP!
1. The Ghost Within

**Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 1**

 **The Ghost Within**

* * *

A lone figure walked up the stone steps of an Eastern Castle dotted with massive red flags decorated by golden phoenixes.  
This figure revealed itself to be a woman under a cloak, and she was moving expertly through the masses of people that were forming in front of her.

These people were clamoring and yelling at the gates of the castle, holding gifts and various articles.

The guards at the gate were struggling to hold them back and were yelling orders commanding them to step back. They threatened the common folk with spears and rifles, as well as swords and pikes.

"What is going on here?" the figure asked a commoner holding a basket of fruit.

"Are you a stranger!?" a man butted in as if offended by the person's question.

"Our princess is ill!" the commoner originally asked answered, "We're trying to bring her things to comfort her."

The figure nodded.  
"As I figured." She said and continued pressing onward.

By this time one of the commanders of the guard came out with two of the palace guards to his side, one of them blew a large horn.

The crowds went silent.

"Attention!" the commander of the guard yelled and beat his spear on the ground, "While the Princess commends the generosity of her people, she has warned to not trespass against her abode during these trying times for her safety! Anyone who dares near the gate or the walls will be punished with Death!"

Several of the inner palace guards poured out from the doors in the walls and surrounded the gate.

"We will set up a station to accept your offerings at the constabulary down the road!" the commander continued.  
"There, and only there, can your kind gifts be turned in to the Princess."

The guards started to move forward, pushing the people back.

The people, this time, were more inclined to move.  
Except one.

The woman from before continued passing through the crowds until she reached the line of guards set up. There she set foot forward into the empty area between them and the crowd.  
"I request and audience with the princess."

"Stand back!" the guards yelled as they pointed at her.  
"Follow the rules!"

The woman stood her ground.  
"I know what ails the princess." She continued.

"We said go back!" one of the guards inched closer with his sword.

"She is ill from her spirit! Something is haunting her!"

The commander of the guard turned to face her.  
"How do you know this!?" he yelled and ran to meet her, "Are you a spy!?" he raised his spear and pointed it at her face.

"Because I 'suffer' from it as well." The woman took off her robe to reveal she was a brunette of shapely and fine build.

"Stand back now or suffer the consequences!" the commander yelled, until he noticed something.

A nearby wagon had caught fire and was now spreading to the wall.  
"What!?" he yelled as the guards turned to see the flames.

"Get down!" one of the guards yelled, "That's the Crystal Sto-"

A massive explosion flashed and shook the earth, sending everyone to the ground.

"Ha… Ha…." The commander of the guard stood up and saw his guards unconscious or recuperating from the blast.  
"What… happened…" he murmured and shook his head.

"Commander, are you alright!?" one of the palace warriors ran to him.

"I'm fine!" the commander growled and held his arm, "What happened to that woman-" he turned to see that the gates had a burning hole right through them.  
"Men! To the palace!"

The woman from before ran up the castle steps as she avoided incoming bullets and arrows expertly.

"Stop her!" the commander of the guard yelled to the soldiers stationed at the palace doors.

Those soldiers saw and aimed their weapons, only for an intense heat to overcome them and make them fall back.

The woman jumped up many of the steps until she reached the palace courtyard, then kicked the soldiers she had made capitulate out of the action.  
"Ha!" she gasped when an arrow landed too close for comfort.

"Stop right there!" the palace guards that peered out from the windows appeared on a balcony and started firing, but then noticed the large drapes behind them caught fire. They immediately started to retreat.

"Almost there." The woman murmured and looked at the large doors of the palace.  
She did not burn these down, but tackled through them and then closed them once she had gotten in.

There, on the Ruby Throne, sat the Princess, surrounded by scores of guards and the most esteemed of her warriors, who all immediately turned to face her.

"What is the meaning of this!?" the Princess stood up.

"Princess Lian, I know what is wrong with you." The woman spoke up, partially ignoring all the weapons surrounding her.  
"It is not a ghost that haunts you-"

"Silence and kneel!" Lian yelled, "How dare you defile my abode…" she stood up from her throne, "and make these baseless comments!"

"I know what you think is a ghost, but it is not." The woman said, "Now let me tell you what it is."

"You're a stubborn one…" Lian growled and raised her hand, "Once I lower this hand, all my soldiers will fire upon you… but since you do show some tenacity, I will allow you to say your name to me…"

"I am here to help you, and for you to help me…" the woman responded, "I need help with som-"

"Say your name now!" Lian commanded, "Or you will die instantly!"

The woman sighed and brushed back her hair.  
"Very well." She said, "I am here to help you, I am here to show you the true nature of your 'illness', I am… Sarah!" she yelled.

"Good… now die." Lian was about to lower her hand when she saw the woman shine, "Hmmm?"

"And this is my Stand FURIOUS FLAME!" Sarah continued, and a being appeared out from her body.  
It looked exactly like her, but it had the glowing wings of an angel and was in tight, revealing clothing covered by metallic armor

Lian gasped and her eyes widened.  
She noticed her soldiers her waiting her command.

"My lady, should we shoot her?" one of her knights asked as he aimed down his sights.

"Her?" Lian asked, "Do you not see the angel watching her!?" she asked him.

The knights around her looked at her curiously.  
"My lady, what do you mean!?" the one who was asked answered, "I see the woma-"

"Look!" Lian grabbed his head and pointed to the area above Sarah, "There is an angel right there! That… ghostly being!"

"It is not a ghost, Princess Lian." Sarah told her, "It is a Stand, a manifestation of one's own willpower and soul. Only those who have their own Stands can see those of others. That, Lian, is why you can see this 'ghost'."

Lian stammered.  
"How dare you mock me!?" she yelled and ran to face her, "Leave your superstitions away from here!" she raised her fist.

Sarah saw as a part of the princess' Stand formed around her fist, then saw a massive arm covered in deep red armor.  
"Lian!" Sarah gasped and called upon Furious Flame to block the incoming blow.

Lian growled, then saw Sarah's Stand grab her own's arm.  
"What is the meaning of this!?"

"Flaming Prison!" Sarah yelled, and Furious Flame made a rope of fire surround the Stand's arm.

"I… Can't move!" Lian gasped as she struggled to move her left arm.

"Lady Lian!" the guards around her yelled.

"Let go of me!" Lian yelled.

Sarah stepped back when she saw the rest of the Princess' Stand come out of her body.  
"Is this Lian's Stand!?" she gasped.

Lian snarled as she felt her power rising, and with it her Stand, which now revealed itself to be a massive being clad in red armor covered with golden bands and two massive golden eagles on the shoulder guards. It had a helmet with two golden spikes like deer antlers that inside held two glowing white eyes. "Unhand me now!" she yelled, and her Stand punched the flaming binds it was caught in, releasing itself.

"Incredible. Now I know my suspicions were correct!" Sarah smiled, but that immediately disappeared when Lian and her stand were nearing her.  
"Princess Lian, that Stand of yours is your ally. It can help you-"

"Help me end your life!" Lian yelled and grabbed a pike from one of the guards nearby, who only stammered when he saw it hover away from him.  
"Take this!" she yelled and caused her stand to throw it.

"Furious Flame!" Sarah called out her stand, who yelled and extended its hand, "Take it out!"  
Furious Flame glared and blasted a burst of fire from its hand, incinerating the pike completely in the middle of the air.

"These stands you speak about…" Lian growled, "Are quite interesting. Perhaps I can get more information from you once you're in my torture chambers!" her stand came out and removed one of the golden phoenix statues that were in the royal court.

"How is her stand so strong!?" Sarah murmured, then used her Furious Flame to thrust herself to the side using its wings to avoid the statue.

The guards and knights in the room stammered and gasped as they saw their leader seemingly use her mind to move massive objects.

"Lian, listen to me!" Furia avoided another statue.  
"Your stand can help me on my journey! My sister… she has a plan to use hers to open a portal to the Abyss!" she informed, "I have to stop her! The Abyss has already taken a hold on her because of her Stand! I need your help to stop her from taking over The World!"

Lian stopped to listen to her.  
"And what does you family strife have to do with me?" she grunted.

"If we do not stop her plan, Seris… No… My sister will cause the Abyss to consume us all!" Sarah responded.

Lian stopped.  
"Does this in anyway threaten my realm-" she heard an explosion outside.

"Yes… it does…" Sarah told her as the sky started to grow dark.

"My lady!" some guards burst in through the door, "A… A dragon! A dragon from the Abyss has just landed-"

A large bony hand tore through the door and a large dragon skull peered in.

The knights immediately surrounded Lian and protect her.

The dragon, however, did not attack, but only dropped a scroll from its mouth before disintegrating in the sunlight.

"One of you, fetch that." Lian told her knights and pointed at the scroll.

Sarah, who was the closest, grabbed it and walked over to Lian.

Lian snatched the scroll from her hand and looked it at.  
 _THE ABYSS COMES_ was the only thing it said, but when she flipped the scroll, the skull painting on the back shot out and aimed to rip off her face.  
However, her stand suddenly appeared and punched the dark magic skull away and made it disappear in the sunlight.  
"Interesting…."

"You see what I am saying?" Sarah responded, "Ever since the Abyss took my sister and granted her her stand… You must help me stop her! You are the only person I know who is still alive that has a Stand!"

Lian crossed her arms, then looked at the damage made to the front of her palace.  
She knew that if a single dragon could make it this far in the environment that slowly killed it, how much more dangerous would an entire abyssal army be to her and her people.  
"Very well. I will see what I can do." She muttered and started to walk away.

"We have to act fast!" Sarah said, "The more time passes, the more power my sister gains and the closer she is to opening a tear into the Abyss!"

"You dare command me?!" Lian snarled, "Fine. I'll help you, as I am the only one in the world who can. Commander Pao." She turned to her most esteemed Knight, "You and the Governor will be in charge while I am away, I will make this quick to protect my city and my people."

"Yes, m'lady." Commander Pao bowed, "Do you want me to prepare a force to accompany you-"

"I'll have this wrapped up by tomorrow." Lian dismissed him, quite prideful in the abilities she had discovered, "Come…"

"Sarah." Sarah said.

"Yes, that. Let us go since you are so eager to." Lian said and she started to walk out the door.


	2. A Friend of the Police

**Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 2**

 **A Friend of The Police**

* * *

"I don't think you understand the severity of our journey, Lian." Sarah spoke as the two walked outside the walls of the city-state of Aico.  
"My sister is a very dangerous foe now that she has been taken over by the Abyss!"

Lian groaned as she dismissed some soldiers.  
"Will you ever be quiet? You're always making it much harder than it seems." She grabbed her tiara and shuffled it side to side.  
"What a pain."

Sarah crossed her arms.  
"Are you even ready for the journey ah-" she stopped when a soldier came up to her with a bag.

"Yes. Now carry it." Lian responded and continued walking, "And don't ask any more questions." She said and got on a carriage prepared by her soldiers.

Sarah grumbled as she struggled to carry the materials in her arms.  
"No need to thank me…" she muttered and threw the luggage on the back of the carriage.

"My thanks is in the form of you even being allowed to ride in my carriage." Lian called out from inside the vehicle.  
"Hurry, before I change my mind."

Sarah sighed and ran to the open door before it closed.  
"Hmph!" she grunted as she jumped in, "Wow." She marveled at the lined fabric seating and the metal ornaments found inside.

Lian smirked and placed her legs on the table in the center.  
"Now, I want you to tell me everything about these so-called 'Stands'." She said and caused hers to come out and sit next to her.

Sarah nodded and sat straight.  
"Stands are a mystical manifestation of a living being's willpower and soul." She explained again, "With it, people gain wonderful and supernatural new abilities, as well as an ally to protect them."

"And why do some people have them and others don't?"

"It takes a high amount of will power or soul to have one… and many people just don't." Sarah responded, "I assume you received yours from the passion you have for your people and fighting in combat. I have heard the tales of your exploits."

"Don't try to flatter me." Lian shook her head, "However, it seems interesting. Are Stands affected by the same things we are?"

"No, only a Stand-"

"Excuse me." Lian spoke and stuck her head out the window, "HEPH! Get a move on!"

The soldier driving the carriage jumped up in shock and whipped the horses.

"Much better." The princess chuckled when she felt the carriage move, "You were saying?"

"Stands are only affected by other Stands." Sarah continued, "They are not affected by any kind of magic or physical attacks. So if a hooligan tries to stab your stand, it will either be caught by your stand or go right through. However, any damage taken by your stand will translate to you."

Lian nodded in understanding and placed her chin on her right hand, "Well… you did say Stands are rare, so I really shouldn't worry about it." She shrugged her shoulders.  
"By the way, do you know where we are going?"

"To the Town of Seris." Sarah responded, "That is where my sister is. That is where I fled from and started my journey to look for other Stand users, which led me to you."

"Quite… and where is this… Seris?"

"In the southern edge of the Magistrate." Sarah answered, "So it will take a while to get there."

Lian gave a deep sigh, "And here I thought this would be a quick task." She grabbed her tiara and shuffled it side to side, "What a pain…"

"The wait will be worth it once we defeat her." Sarah pulled out some tarts from the bag, then called Furious Flame to toast it with its flame.  
"Do you want one?" she asked the princess.

"No thank you. I need to keep my shape." Lian chuckled.

Sarah rolled her eyes.  
"By the way, what have you named your stand?" she asked.

"Named?" Lian looked at her oddly, then looked at her hulking stand.

"Yes, you can name it… I have named mine Furious Flame." Sarah said, "I was just wondering if you had."

"What a silly thought." Lian shook her head, "But a rather cute one at that." She nodded and pondered, "Perhaps…. Rocket Man?"

"Eh…" Sarah murmured disapprovingly.

"Need a Hero?"

"Uh…."

"Don't Stop me Now?"

"It's just not biting me." Sarah confessed.

"Ugh, why am I even asking for the opinion of a commoner?" Lian scoffed and then brushed back her hair, "How about something simple…. Power Khan."

"That sounds… alrig-"

"It's going to be Power Khan." Lian said, "Because I Khan do this with Power." She chuckled.

Sarah looked confused.

"I demand you laugh." Lian growled, "Do it!"

"Hahahahahaha…." Sarah laughed uneasily, "Well, it is a nice name now that I think about it." She nodded and looked at her stand, "Power Khan sounds great for such a strong looking stand."

"I knew you would come around." Lian nodded.

000000

Sarah woke up when she heard a yell, and then felt the carriage shake when the horses outside whinnied.

"DWAH!" the soldier screamed and a spear came through the carriage walls, nearly hitting Sarah.

"Hah!" the woman screamed and stepped back when the spear started to drip with blood, "Lian!" she yelled at the Princess, who was still sound asleep all spread out on the sofa and snoring.  
"Lian! We're being attacked!" she shook her.

"H-Huh?" Lian slowly opened her eyes looked around, "What do you want-" she saw the spear sticking through the carriage.

"Quick!" a voice outside sounded alongside the galloping of horses, "This carriage looks good, let's see what we get from this!"

"What's going on?" Lian asked.

"We're being attacked!" Sarah informed as she grabbed the supply bag, "We need to get out of her-"

A large axe burst through the door and was stuck there for a few seconds.  
"I here someone inside!" a gruff voice yelled, "And they sound pretty cute…" it chuckled lowly.

"Use your stand!" Lian told Sarah.

"And risk burning us to ashes?" the woman responded, "This carriage is all wood and we're stuck inside! We'll light up like a torch!"

Lian growled, "Useless." She shook her head and pointed at the back of the carriage.  
"Power Khan!" she called out her stand, then made it punch the wall.

Power Khan yelled and blew the back of the carriage apart with two punches.

"What the!?" the thieves outside fell back to avoid the planks and splinters that shot out.

Lian and Sarah jumped out to see a raiding party of 10 thieves and robbers surrounding them and the carriage.

"Well what do we have here?" one of the thieves looked at the two, "Don't you two look… delicious." He licked his lips, "Especially you there with those thick thighs…" he looked at Sarah.

"That white haired one's the best." Another thief, the man with the axe, pointed at Lian, "She looks pretty uppity too."

"Put your hands up, ladies, and you'll be fine." A robber lifted his two revolvers and pointed them at the two women.

Sarah stood close to Lian and tapped her hip.  
"Lian… do you see that?" she told the princess and directed her eyes to a small patch of woods a short way away.

"That forest, what about it?" Lian asked.

"If we can make it to those woods, we may lose these chumps." Sarah responded, "And I can do just that… Furious Flame."  
Her stand came out and looked at her.  
"Heat Wave."

Furious Flame brought in its wings and curled its knees up to its chest, then stretched out and heated the air around it,

"What in the world…" one of the thieves grumbled as the air started to become heavy and hazy.

"What's going on?" the one with the axe added as his eyes started to dry up.

"Now's our chance!" Sarah said as the thieves were blinded by the heat and grabbed Lian.

Lian nodded and called out Power Khan, who punched away one of the thieves to make a clearing.

Sarah recalled Furious Flame once they reached a reasonable distance from the woods, causing the hot air effect to leave the area.

"What- Hey!" one of the thieves yelled, "They're running off to the woods!" he pointed, and the posse followed suit.

However, there was one straggler coming in, and coming in hot.

Inside the woods, Lian and Sarah scrambled to lose the thieves who had now dismounted in order to chase them more effectively in the thick woods.  
"Ah!" Princess Lian ducked when a bullet whizzed past her head.

"Watch out!" Sarah pulled Lian to her so she could avoid a crossbow bolt, "Agh! I can't use my stand in here!" she growled as she noticed the dense vegetation around them.  
"One whiff and this would all go ablaze!"

Lian and Sarah stopped when they saw their path was blocked off by a pile of rotting logs.

"Step back." Lian said and called Power Khan, then used it to grab the logs and throw them at their pursuers.

"What the hell!?" one of the robbers yelled as he avoided the logs, only to have the person behind him be struck by it.

"Take this, you skank!" a thief aimed his rifle.

"Lian!" Sarah gasped when she saw he was aiming straight at her.

Lian closed her eyes when she heard the gunshot and expected to be hit, only to never be struck.  
"Terrible aim." She chuckled, thinking that had been the case, only to notice that Power Khan was holding something in its fingers.  
A bullet.  
A bullet that was right in front of her chest.

"No way." Sarah's eyes widened, "Agh!" she was scraped by a crossbow bolt.

"That is incredible." Lian inspected the bullet, then cast it aside.  
"Ah great." She growled when she saw they were once again surrounded.

"Take this!" one of the thieves threw a tomahawk.

Lian made Power Khan punch it away, then made it block a crossbow bolt that was going to hit Sarah.  
"Mind helping out here?" she looked at Sarah.

"Alright." Sarah nodded and called out Furious Flame, then made it pick up a nearby stone and throw it at one of the thieves, scoring a direct hit.

The thieves yelled in anger, reloaded and aimed their weapons at them.

"I don't think my stand can block this much firepower…" Lian gulped.

There was a yell in the woods.  
"NO ONE ESCAPES THE LAW!"

The thieves turned around to see a black man of tall stature slide down a hill and aim his magnums at them.

"It's the damn Tribunal!" one of the robbers cried out and fired his rifle.

The black man ducked and weaved, then blasted two robbers with his magnums before taking cover.

Sarah and Lian saw as the tree the man was hiding behind was being peppered with so many bullets and bolts that it was near falling over.

From behind the tree, the man took a deep breath, then his body started to glow blue.

The thieves took a moment to reload, then aimed at the tree again.

Lian noticed something rustling in the trees, then saw a being surrounded by a blue aura come out of the foliage.  
"Sarah…"

"I see it too…" Sarah mumbled, then widened her eyes when she saw another similar being come out not to far from the first one.  
"What?"

"Is that another Stand?!" Lian asked, "But they look the same-" she gasped when another appeared just a few meters away from them.

The being appeared to be of a strong masculine build with gray skin covered by parts that were blue and a large metallic chestplate with a golden set of scales design on it. Its left arm was covered by a gauntlet, but its right arm was a metal cannon-looking object with glowing blue lines running across it.

"That is a stand! But why these many!?" Sarah asked as she called out Furious Flame.

The stand nearest to them looked at them.

"Oh no you don't!" Lian yelled and called out Power Khan, who then punched the stand into a tree.

"Give it up, criminals!" the man hiding behind the tree popped out.

The thieves smirked and put their fingers on the triggers, ready to pepper him.

However, the stands appeared from behind them and blasted them from behind.

"The Law will prevail!" the man yelled and blasted the remaining robbers with his magnums, "Hrrr…" he murmured when he saw the area was clear, or so he thought.

There was Lian, fighting one of his stands with her own.

"Stop right there!" The man yelled, catching the two women's attention.

"Watch out!" Lian said and used Power Khan to throw a log at them.

"Hrr!" the man avoided this and recalled his stand back, "That is endangering an officer!" he lifted his magnums.  
"Cease this now or face judgement! Wh-What…" he noticed that Sarah was looking at one of his stands.

Lian charged him while he was distracted and called out Power Khan.

"You too!?" The man growled and dove, then used one of his stands to blast them.

"AGH!" Lian yelped when Power Khan was grazed by the blast from the stand and fell to the ground.

"How can you see my officers?" the man yelled, "No one has ever seen them before!"

Lian stood up and used Power Khan to punch one of the stands, forcing the man to recall it.  
"These must be the Stands!" she yelled and aimed for the next one.

The man made the other two stands shoot at Power Khan, but it avoided the blasts and beat up the third stand. The man growled as he removed that one as well.

"I'm getting closer to you!" Lian said as Power Khan targeted the last two stands.

"This is impossible!" the man recalled both.

"Lian! Stop!" Sarah butted in and made Furious Flame catch Power Khan's arm in a fiery bind, "He's not an enemy!"

"How do you know!?" Lian asked as she struggled to get out.

"He's a member of the Outer Tribunal!" Sarah said as she looked at the man's outfit, "He's an enforcer of the law! He was here to help us."

Lian struggled, but then inspected the man's outfit as well.  
"Hmmm… You are correct." She stopped and recalled Power Khan.

The man kept his magnums aimed at the two.  
"How did you two see my officers?" he asked.

"You mean your stands?" Sarah asked, "Because we have the same thing." She said and called out Furious Flame.

The man looked at it.  
"What are you talking about?" he called out his stand, "This… This is a stand?" he looked at it.

"Yes." Sarah answered him, "They are a projection of you. They appear to those who have great willpower and spirit to aid them." She added.

The man lowered his magnums and came to his senses.  
"Are you ladies alright? You were the ones being chased, no?"

"Yes." Lian responded, "But I wish to know more about your stand." She shrugged him off.

The man stood straight.  
"This… what you call a stand, I have named THE LAW." He informed, "It allows me a personal police force no one has been able to see… until you two came."

"The Law?" Sarah asked, "How about all the others?"

"No… they are all THE LAW." The man shook his head.

"But a person can only have one Stand." Sarah mumbled, "It can't be possible you possess so many."

"They are all the same Stand, except it can multiply." The man responded, "Ah, apologies. Ladies, my name is Lex, I am an Enforcer from the Outer Tribunal." He placed his hand on his chest.

"I am Sarah, and this is Princess Lian of House Aico." Sarah told him.

Lex looked at the princess with some shock.  
"You are… the princess of Aico?" he asked with a curious tone.

"Yes. You may wonder why I am far from home… and sometimes I do to." Lian said and stretched her arm.

"We are looking to end a threat so villainous it plans to take over the world for the Abyss." Sarah added, "She is a stand user as well. I've been searching the realm for other Stand users like myself to take her down."

Lex stopped and pondered.  
"Hmmm. Where are the whereabouts of this criminal?" he asked in a serious tone.

"The Town of Seris or somewhere." Lian shook her head.

Lex's ears perked.  
"Seris?" he asked, "That place is where the criminal beast that massacred a whole town is. Some of my compatriots have gone down to capture it, none have returned."

"I am sorry." Sarah mumbled, "Without a stand, few creatures stand a chance against her."

"And you say I have a stand?" Lex asked.

"Yes." Sarah responded.

"Perhaps I can join you two then. I will bring judgement on that creature and exact The Law's punishment on her!" the man yelled.  
"It is best to finish evil at any given opportunity!"

Sarah smiled, "I'm so glad you decided to help!"

"I will do anything in the Outer Tribunal's power to bring that creature to Justice!" Lex spoke loudly.

"Perhaps you can stop yelling." Lian grumbled and covered one of her ears, "That'll probably help us out."

"Well Excuse meeee, princess." Lex responded as the three walked off.

 **00000000000**

The princess' damaged carriage and Lex on his horse arrived at the local constabulary during the early morning, attracting the attention of the locals.

Lex dismounted and walked towards the crowds starting to farm.  
"Back up! Back up!" he waved his hands away from him and turned back to walk towards the carriage.

Lian and Sarah stepped out of the carriage and met up with Lex, who walked past them and inspected the carriage.

"Is it any good?" Sarah asked as Lex did a round trip.

"Of course it is, I had the finest artisans in the land make it." Lian scoffed, then saw Lex stop on one of the front wheels.

Lex pounded on it lightly and the whole carriage fell towards him.

"Silence." Lian growled as Lex cut the ropes to free the horses.

"This carriage will not take us to Seris." Lex informed and looked at them, "Unfortunately, another Enforcer is transporting a prisoner to Alkaea and thus we have no carriage here. So if you wish to ride horses, it would be our only option now."

"How about the train?" Lian pointed to the train station in the town.

"Do you think that would be wise for the mission we will be undertaking?" Lex crossed his arms.

"It is not known to others, Lex." Sarah informed, "And I doubt my sister can hear us from here. The Abyss is not omnipresent." She said, "We can take the train. It would be faster, and faster is better here."

"Case closed, officer." Lian smirked and walked towards the train station.

Sarah sighed and waited for Lex to put up his horse and come out of the constabulary.  
"H-Hey!" she called out to Lian, who was already in the town square.

A few moments later, Lex came out and walked up to Sarah.  
"Quite stubborn for a princess." He grumbled as he ran to catch up to her.

The three caught up and walked into the train station.

"Special Mission." Lex walked up to the ticket master and showed him his badge, "I am escorting these two for witnessing in a case. We're going south."

The ticket master nodded and gave him three tickets.

Lex grabbed the tickets and handed them out to his allies.  
"We leave in 20 minutes. I guess we have luck on our side." He commented as he looked at the time.

"Before we go, I would like us to get to know our stands." Sarah said and made Furious Flame appear, "This is Furious Flame, with the power of the Pyre."

Lian rolled her eyes and made Power Khan appear.  
"This is Power Khan, with the power to beat dissidents dearly."

Sarah glared at the princess.

"This is The Law." Lex finished off by showing off his stand, "With the power to blast energy and multiply into a police force."

Nearby, a figure behind a newspaper watched carefully.

* * *

 **This is the second Paladins fic I'm working on.  
I hope you enjoy it.**

 **Characters belong to Hi-Rez/Evil Mojo**


	3. Murders on the Orient Express

**Lian's Peculiar Adventure: Starlight Paladins**  
 **Chapter 3**

 **Murders on the Orient Express**

* * *

Lian, Lex, and Sarah walked into their first-class train car thanks to the Enforcer's official perks. The three looked around and saw that this car was very luxurious with its padded seating and its dining tables.

"Wow, I've never seen anything like this." Sarah said with awe as she felt the fabric on the seats before taking a rest on them.

"Neither have I." Lex sat on the opposite seat in front of her.

"Eh… I've seen better." Lian shrugged her shoulders and took her ease next to Lex, "Though how come you haven't already seen this, Lex, since you do have access to it already." She asked.

"I've always preferred carriages." Lex answered as he leaned on the table, "You're more in control in those situations if you have criminal scum under your watch."

Lian nodded and rested her head back, then clapped her hands.  
"Oh waiter!" she called out, noting the delicious lobster that was set on the table nearby.

No response.

"Waiter!" she called out again.

Nothing.

"Waiter! I demand you come attend me!" Lian repeated sternly.

Not a single soul.

"You damn manservants better have a good reason to not attend to royalty!" Lian stood up with a scowl on her face and walked to the railroad car in front of theirs. She raised her hand and banged on the door.  
"I demand someone see me!"

Sarah sighed.

Lex lowered his head as if trying to distance himself from the situation.

"Get out here right now!" Lian knocked, "I'll show you…" she growled and brought out Power Khan.

Sarah saw this and stood up.  
"Lian, please!" she said, catching her attention, "What do you want to eat?"

Lian looked at her.  
"Well I suppose." She shrugged her shoulders and walked towards her seat, then took her ease and rested her head on her hands. "Can you serve me some lobster with noodles and a side of filet mignon, beef bourguignon, coq au vin, and a small clafoutis. To drink can you also pour me a side of chardonnay white wine?"

Sarah looked at her rather confused.  
"I… uh… don't know what you just said…" she looked at the platter on her hand and then looked at the food on the table.

Lian sighed and shuffled her tiara side to side, "What a pain…"

Lex grunted and plowed through Lian to get out, getting an angry glare from the woman when he did.  
"Here, allow me." He walked up to Sarah and grabbed the platter from her hand. He then visited each and every morsel of food and scooped up the appropriate amounts and walked towards Lian and the table once he was done. The enforcer returned to the buffet area and served some wine in two glasses and returned to stay.

"My." Lian slid across the table with her platter to allow Lex to sit on the outside, "You know your delicacies. I thought officers like you only ate hardtacks and water."

"When you're an officer of my high caliber, some important people tend to invite you to their celebrations." Lex said and handed her her wine, "Never cared much for those festivities, but I was job-bound to go."

Lex handed the other glass of wine to Sarah.

"Was that not for you?" Sarah asked him.

"I do not consume alcohol." Lex responded, "It clouds my judgement, something unbecoming of a hand of justice."

Lian rolled her eyes, "Here, have some of this." She put some beef on her fork and put it near Lex's proximity.

"Thank you." Lex nodded and grabbed the fork, then ate the beef bourguignon.

Lian retrieved her fork and set it down, then went for the lobster.  
"Hmmmm." She thought and brought out Power Khan.

Power Khan grabbed hold of the lobster and expertly removed all facets of flesh from the shell and even the legs.

"Wow… How precise!" Sarah observed the events, "Your stand surprises me every time you use it."

"Me as well." Lian said, "Well, it is the stand of royalty, so only the finest would be present."

000000000

The train chugged along quietly during the night, allowing our three Paladins to sleep soundly in their luxury bunks.

Sarah slept normally, body on its side and arms by her face in a praying position. She breathed in softly and sometimes lightly shuffled her leg around a bit to fit under her blanket.

Lian was all over the place. Her blanket was only covering part of her body and her right arm and leg were completely off the bed. She was snoring loudly and sometimes even snorted as she moved her head around on a pillow that was barely clinging on to the bed.

Lex was asleep like a mummy in a sarcophagus. His hands were over his chest and he made no noise or movement during rest. He didn't even move his head, he was just laying there silent and still. His sheets and blanket were so flat over his body, they appeared recently ironed.

However, it was Lian who woke up, feeling cold and uncomfortable in her current position.  
"I… I need a glass of water." She mumbled and sat up from her bed. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, then put on her boots and walked to her chamber doors.

The princess made her way through the dimly lit halls until she reached the dining area. She walked over to the serving table and grabbed a glass, then walked over to the water pitcher. She picked it up, but before serving herself shook it around.

It was empty.

"Huh…." Lian groaned and set down her articles, then shifted her tiara side to side, "What a pain…" she murmured and saw that the waiters car had their lights on.  
"I'll see if they'll actually help me this time." She grumbled and walked to the door, then opened it to reveal the door to the railroad car that held the waiters.

Tap tap was the noise of her knuckles hitting the wood.  
Tap tap.  
Tap tap.

Lian sighed and reached for the lever to open it.  
It opened.

"Good." She sighed in relief and opened the door, but right when she did a foul stench overcame her. "What?!" she grimaced and shook her head, then walked inside. "What in the gods is that awful smell?" she covered her mouth and walked past the toiletry and towel cabinets.  
"This is-" she paused and gasped and the sight before her.

All the waiters had their throats gashed, not one was left alive.

"What the hell!?" Lian yelled and stepped back, "I-I-I AH!" she screamed and ran out of the car. She made her way to the sleeping quarters in the luxury car and knocked on the first door she saw.  
"Open! Open!"

The door opened.

"What are- Lian?!" Lex shook his head as he saw the Princess standing in front of him. Even though he had just woken up, he was wide awake and alert.  
"What's wrong?" he saw the look on her face.

"Look!" Lian pointed to the open waiters car up ahead, "They're- They're…" she stammered, "Just look!"

Lex took no extra time and ran to the car, then saw the same sight.  
"What is this!?" he asked himself and ran back to find Lian waking up Sarah, "Someone has struck down all the waiters." He informed.

Sarah shook her head, "What?"

"Someone killed all the waiters, that's why I didn't get any service back then!" Lian informed her, "Who could have done it!? We were up here the whole time!"

Sarah walked towards the waiters car but stopped at the door, since she already knew the smell that was hitting her was that of death.  
"Oh no!" she cried out and ran back.

Lex looked around for clues.

"Should we check if everyone else is ok?!" Sarah asked the Enforcer as he prowled around.

"That would be a good idea." Lex stopped his actions and met up with the two, "Let us go and see if no one else has been murdered."

The three stepped out of the luxury railroad car and into the other luxury car.

"It looks clear- AH!" Lian yelped and flinched.

It was the same sight, but this time it was two elegant women and three men on the ground with blood around them and open necks.

"We have to find the perpetrator of this heinous crime." Lex growled and continued onward, kicking down the door to the next luxury car.  
"Damn it!" he yelled when he saw 7 more casualties inside.

"This just keeps getting worse and worse!" Sarah murmured as she tried to avoid stepping on any blood.

Lex opened the door to exit the car but refrained from kicking the subsequent door to the next since he noticed it was a commoner's car and he did not want to cause a panic.  
The man reached for the door and opened it quietly, expecting the worse.

However, in this car there were few people and many empty seats.  
But half the people in here were killed in much the same way as the others.

"Hmmmm…" Lex murmured to himself as he tried to avoid waking up the other passengers yet investigate the bodies.

Lian walked up next to him and saw something written on the ground with blood.  
"What's this?" she asked and strained to see it.

Power Khan appeared and read it for her.

 _YOU CAN'T SEE ME, BUT I CAN SEE YOU_ read the message.

Lian looked around and saw another message written on the roof of the car.

 _I HAVE EYES EVERYWHERE.  
BLINK AND YOU'LL MISS ME._

Lian heard a soft hum in the air and turned around.

"What are you looking at?" Lex asked as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Ha!" Sarah gasped, causing the two to turn.

"What is it?" Lian asked her.

"I think I saw something." The woman responded, "Just for a second I thought I saw something move."

"Hmmm…." Lex mumbled and looked around.

"There!" Lian pointed to the corner of the car, but by the time the other two turned, whatever it was was gone.

"Huh?" Lex felt something fly past the top of his head.

"Aaahhhh…." Sarah stammered, causing the two to turn.

"What?" Lian gasped when she saw the sight.

"What is that?" Lex's eyes scrutinized the object.

It was a small flat disk as thick as a book and as big as a dinner plate hovering by the roof of the car. It had small orange lights flickering on its side that were rather dim and one large one in the top center that was slightly brighter. The disk also had three small block-like shapes sticking out of it and floated without making a sound.

"I don't know what that is…" Lian murmured, "But the aura I get off it… it feels like a stand."

"I feel it too." Sarah told her as she neared Lex for safety.

The disk hovered above them and stopped.  
"My my…" a high pitch voice sounded from the disk, startling the three, "They say two heads are better than one, yet three can't even find out a single thing about this whole conundrum. Perhaps I should give you a clue as to what I am. Hahahahaha." The disk hovered down and floated in front of one of the sleeping passengers, then in one quick dash slit her throat before quickly bee lining to the passengers behind her.

"Ah…." Sarah gasped and pulled Lian back.

"Have your brains started working, or do you need another refresher?" the disk taunted as it spun around to clear all the blood from itself.

"We need to get everyone out of here!" Lex growled as he kept a close eye on the disk.

"But why, don't you love the plot that's unfolding?" the disk chuckled, then saw Lian make a dash for it.  
"Oh! How impatient!" it laughed.

"I'll get through with you." Lian grunted, "Power Khan." She called out her stand, who shouted and glared at the disk.

"Oh! You have one too!" the disk tauntingly said, "But will it compare to my Stand CUNNING CUTTER?"

"Lian, we don't know what that can fully do." Sarah told her, "We need to step back find its owner."

Lian ignored her and set her sights on the disk.  
Power Khan focused and pulled back its fist, then unleashed a flurry of punches to hit it.

Cunning Cutter, however, dodged all of the punches expertly and came out unscathed.

"What?!" Lian could not bother to blurt out loudly, causing the nearby passengers to shuffle in their seats.

"Keep quiet." Lex growled, "We do not want to cause a panic." He spoke behind his teeth.

"My Stand could catch a bullet, how can it be too slow to hit this glorified discus?" Lian responded and looked back at the disk.  
"I won't miss this time…" she growled.

Power Khan grunted and put all its speed into one chop that was so fast that Lex and Sarah barely saw it.

"Too slow."

Those words sent a chill down Lian's Spine.

Cunning Cutter floated there with no damage to it whatsoever.  
"Perhaps its time to meet my friend." The voice of the disk spoke.

Sarah gasped as the disk prepared to attack, then the three saw it seemingly vanish from the air.

"Over here…." Cunning Cutter swooped past Sarah's head and aimed straight towards Lian.

"Ha!" Lian gasped, and at the last minute Power Khan managed to tip the disk away.

"You finally touched it." Sarah grinned, "You managed to catch up-" she was interrupted when Lex raised his hand.

"It's not what you think." The enforcer spoke as he heard Lian pant heavily, then saw what caused such a troubling face to appear on the princess's face.

She had a small cut across the side of her neck that was leaking a bit of blood.

Sarah's eyes widened when she saw that sight and gained goosebumps all over her skin.

"Well, I may have slightly missed my target." Cunning Cutter's voice spoke, "But it's all part of the plot. Let's see how this all can thicken." It giggled and swooped down to strike three more passengers across their necks.

"I can't let you keep getting away with this!" Sarah yelled and called out her Furious Flame, "You can't dodge this fire that's coming your wa-"

"Cease!" Lex pulled her back.  
"You pull that off in this wooden car and on this train powered by crystals and it will be a disaster for not only us, but everyone on the other cars on this train!"

"Shhh!" Lian told them, but then saw one of the passengers stand up and rub her eyes.

It was a middle-aged light-skinned woman with hair that only reached to the base of her head. She was of shapely build with a red coat and brown pants. It was hard to see in the dark, but she also had a red strand of hair on her head on the left side of her face.  
"What's going on here?" she asked and rubbed her eyes, "What's this?" she looked at her neighboring passenger and gasped in horror when she saw what became of her.  
"AHHH-" she was hit on the back of the head by Lian and knocked silent.

"We can't have her scaring the other passengers." Lian said, then turned her focus back to the disk.

"Can't think of a plan?" Cunning Cutter's voice giggled, "I already have hatched 40 ways to kill you three, and I only need one. Once I'm through with you, Seris will pay me handsomely with magic knowledge beyond our capabiltiies."

Sarah's ears perked up.  
"Seris sent you to do this?!" she snarled.

"Of course! She can't have anyone messing with her plans, even her own sister." The disc said, "That being said, perhaps it is best to get rid of you first!"

"I'll stop you right there, criminal scum." Lex stood between the disc and Sarah, "You may be fast, but no matter how fast you can move, no matter how far you can go, no one escapes The Law." He brought out his stand and made four copies of it.

"Try dodging that." Lian said curtly as the four stands surrounded the disk.

"You have nowhere to go." Lex told the disc, "Surrender now or face immediate repercussion."

Cunning Cutter only giggled.  
"You can face me with the grand cannons of Fort Makara all pointed at me, none of them will hit me!" it taunted.

"Hmph. A theory that should have been tested first." Lex grunted, "5 Enforcer Police Shootout." He said and all 5 of his stands started firing at the disk.

Cunning Cutter bobbed and weaved through all the ethereal bullets coming towards it.  
"You cannot hit me! I am the pinnacle of science! It is worthless to even try to unravel my plans!" it taunted.

Lex stopped his stands from shooting again.  
"Hmmmm…." He grumbled, "Shootout!" he yelled and had the fire once again.

"You can't hit me!" the disk continued jeering at him, "You couldn't hit the broadside of a city's walls with this aim."

Lex stopped again.

"Now it's my turn!" Cunning Cutter swooped down a took out three of the copies of his stand in quick succession, stunning Lex for a moment.  
"Next time it will be three other targets… The last two of your stand and YOU." It cackled.

"SHOOTOUT." Lex commanded, and The Law fired upon the disk another time.

"It is all in vain." Cunning Cutter laughed when Lex stopped firing, "Now you will die-"

"The Law retrieves those running away from it." Lex said, and suddenly the bullet holes on the ceiling of the railcar shot out beams of blue light that returned back to the barrels of the guns of the two The Law stands. These beams pierced right through Cunning Cutter and made the voice out of it gasp in pain.

"WHAT?!" Cunning Cutter yelled as it couldn't move through the beams that pierced it.

Lex recalled The Law copy, making all the beams focus on the barrel of one Stand.  
"It is wise not to let the enemies of The Law understand its powers, but since you will not live to even see the bars of a cell, I can let you know. Anything my bullets hit can be traced back to the barrel of The Law, making it sort of a harpoon to reel back criminal scum like you."

The Law made the beams retract, leaving Cunning Cutter floating mere inches from the barrel of its gun.

"For massacring more that 10 innocent men and women, your punishment is nothing less than Death." Lex told the disk, then made The Law blast a beam of pure energy through it.

"AUGHHHHHHH!" Cunning Cutter screamed.

"AHHHHHH!" the woman Lex knocked out screamed as a hole appeared in her sternum.

"What?" Lian and Sarah saw the woman writhe in pain.  
"She was the stand user?!" Sarah gasped, "You! How do you know my sister!?" she ran to her.

"Haaa…. Ha…" the woman panted, "To think…. I…. Vivian…. Would have all my plans scuttled…. By a bunch of backwater…. Ruffians…. How?!" she yelled.

"How did you know my sister?!" Sarah continued asking.

"Heh…. Your sister already know about your plan, stupid girl…" Vivian answered, "And I'm only telling you this because… you all will die once the sun starts to rise…." She smirked and spat out some blood.

"What do you mean by that?" Lian snarled.

"I did more than… kill the butlers…" Vivian responded, "Even though I never thought I would fail…. One always needs an ultimate contingency… Ha… Ha…." Her breathing became more and more labored, "In the end, you were all just rungs on a ladder… waiting to be…. Stepped…. On…. Augh…" she gave out one last groan and died.

"I can't believe my sister knew about my plan…" Sarah clenched her fist.

"She must have deduced it." Lian told her, "Perhaps you running away instead of joining her may have given her that suspicion. Suspicion enough to spy on you."

"And send assassins." Lex muttered as he looked at Vivian's body, "But she threatened a calamity that will take all our lives. We must discover it before the dayspring." He pointed out the window.

The night sky was slowly lighting up as the morning came.

"She said she killed more than the butlers." Lian pondered, "Who else works on the train?"

"The Engineers!" Sarah exclaimed.

The three looked at each other and ran back to where they came from.

"This train crosses across underdeveloped tracks." Sarah informed, "If it does not make the right turns, it could end up crashing into something!"

"And how do you know this?" Lian asked as she stopped to let Lex kick down the door that led from the waiters car to the main engine.

"I traveled all across the land in search for stand users, remember?" Sarah responded, "You think I didn't use a couple of trains during that time?"

Lian shrugged her shoulders.

"Clear!" Lex burst through the door and met with the steel door of the main engine.  
"Locked… and I don't think I have the strength to knock this one down."

"Allow me." Lian stepped in front of him, "Power Khan!" she said and brought out her stand.

Power Khan shouted and reached for the steel door, then punched straight through it, grabbed it, and ripped it off.  
"RA!" it yelled and threw it to the side, where it tumbled down a hill.

"Our suspicions were correct." Lex stepped in and saw the three engineers on the ground with their throats sliced.

"And look up ahead." Lian pointed out the window where a large unfinished bridge lay over a river.

"And its too late to switch lanes!" Sarah pointed when she saw the intersection a kilometer behind them.

"And the brake has been destroyed." Lex growled when he held the stick, which was cut in two.

Lian sighed deeply and shifted her tiara side to side, "What a pain…"

"We need to save the passengers!" Lex said and ran outside of the engine.

"And how are we going to do that?" asked Lian, who followed closely behind.

"Follow me!" Lex told the two and they ran through the cars until stopping at the one where they faced against Vivian and her Cunning Cutter.

Lex opened the door to the other car and saw that the people in side were still sleeping. From there he stepped back out and got on the stairs that led to the top and saw that there were four more cars to go.  
He then climbed back down and looked at Lian.  
"I need you to break us free!" he pointed at the metal junction under them.

Lian nodded and brought out Power Khan.  
"Tell me when!"

"When you two hop over here!" Lex yelled, noting that they were still on the car attached to the engine.

"Oh." The two women said and went to Lex's side.

"Now!" Lex ordered.

"Power Khan!" Lian yelled, and Power Khan appeared and punched the junction, freeing them from the engine leading to certain doom.

Sarah saw the sun peeking through the horizon, then looked ahead to the bridge.  
"It's not enough! We're still going too fast!" she warned.

Lian and Lex looked at each other as to what to do next.

"Leave this to me!" Sarah spoke up, "Furious Flame!" she said, and her Angelic Stand sprung out and flew over the railroad car.  
"Burn the wheels!" she said.

Furious Flame flew around and to the wheels, then blasted them with fire, causing them to melt slightly and deform.

"Other side!" Sarah said.

The stand did the same but to the other side, and the friction the deformed wheels were having with the rails was enough to mimic the effects of a braking system.

Surely enough, they were starting to slow down.  
But was it enough?

The cars connected to the engine in front of them were about to plummet off.

"We need something more to save these people!" Lex yelled.

Sarah brought out Furious Flame again and blasted the tracks themselves in order to deform them and add more friction.

"Is it enough!?" Lian said as the engine and cars ahead of them tumbled down the bridge with them not far behind.

"We're slowing down!" Sarah said as she felt the train get considerably slower.

"Hold on!" Lex grabbed the two women and held them tight.

Everythign about the train started to screech and spark and tremble as it neared the edge of the bridge. The workers on the other side were yelling and waving their arms to stop.

And stop it did, right on the edge.

"Ha…. Haa….. ha…." Lian panted as she felt the train stop moving.

"Phew…" Sarah sighed and wiped her brow.

"That was close." Lex commented.

Suddenly, the door opened, hitting Sarah and Lian hard enough to push them forward

"What's going on!?" some civilians popped out, "Oh my!"

"LIAN! SARAH!" Lex called out The Law and aimed his bullets at them, hitting both of them.  
"Retrieve!" he said, and The Law's bullets came back to the barrel and formed a beam that caught the two women.  
"HRPH!" Lex groaned as he tried to lift the weight, "HELP ME!" he yelled at the civilains, who grabbed him, but too late, his boot had slip and he was dragged off.

"AHHHH!" the three screamed as they fell towards the river.

"THE LAW!" Lex aimed his stand and fired at the cliff face, "Retrieve" he said and made a rope like material, "HA!" he grabbed Lian and Sarah as his stand held him by the waist and they swung down the cliff.

However, the river crashed upwards and swooped them up, sending them downstream…


	4. A Duel to the Death?

**Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 4**

 **A Duel to the Death?**

* * *

Lex grunted as the current of the river tossed and turned him, trying his best to keep above water and abstain from drowning.

"Help!" he heard a yell over the tumultuous water, then saw Lian popped out from under the turbulence and wave her arms.

Lex saw this and made his way towards her.

Sarah had called out her stand to pull her out of the water and fly above it with its wings.  
"Everyone, where are you!?" she called out as she looked at the river.

She spotted Lex pop out of the water.

"Ha!" he took a breath of air and pulled out Lian by her waist.  
"I have you!" he said and cleared the water from her face.

"Could have been sooner…" Lian grumbled and crossed her arms.

"There's a town just down the river!" Sarah flew over them and pointed ahead, where a dock was set outside a town's outskirts.

Lex nodded and saw a large tree on the shore.  
"The Law!" he called out his stand, who appeared and aimed its cannon at the tree, "Retrieve!"

The Law shot the tree multiple times, then made beams of light and pulled Lex and Lian toward the shore against the pull of the river.

Lian used her Power Khan to kick the bottom of the river to give them more propulsion, then with one last heave, the two were out.

Lex breathed in and saw he was on top of Lian.

Lian saw she was under Lex, her wet suit catching water that spilled from his chestplate.  
"Have some manners!" she said and covered her chest.

Lex shook his head and stood up, then shook his body to release any more water caught in his armor.

Lian stood up and fixed her clothing.

Sarah landed next to them and made Furious Flame stand next to them.  
"Here, let me help. The heat emitted by my stand should dry you off in no time." She said and Furious Flame let out some heat waves.

"What is this town anyways?" Lian spun around, trying to get every corner of her body exposed to the heat waves.

"The town of Olefia." Lex responded, "I've been here before. It is a transport center for prisoners heading south. We take them on steamboats down the river to the Arbiter's Grounds for execution." He informed and dried off his boots.

"Must be a nice town then." Lian muttered.

"It appears lovely." Sarah commented as she saw the clean streets and houses that had people walking all about them.  
"But I do see the prison you are talking about." She saw a large fortress in the middle of the woods overlooking the town.

Sarah recalled her stand when she saw her allies were dried off.

"I will see if we can catch a ferry." Lex said, but took a moment to look back on the uncompleted bridge and the train they had left behind.  
"Lian, can you see if the civilians are getting help?"

Lian nodded and squinted her eyes, then Power Khan came out and did the same.  
"It seems the workers on the bridge have called for some aide." She said as she saw a temporary bridge was built and workers, passengers, and town guards were walking across it.

"Good." Lex nodded, "Shall we get to it, then?" he asked Sarah as he led the way.

The three walked towards the town until they reached the market and the town square, which was surrounded by many prominent buildings and many people.

Some people gave Lex the right of way when they saw he was an Enforcer, but some tended to look away from him in either respect or fear.

"My, you have quite a reputation." Lian commented when she noticed the people's reaction towards him, "You must visit this town a lot."

Lex shook his head, "It's best to head away from all this commotion." He said and made his way to the quieter parts of town.  
"I will see if the constabulary will allow us to travel free of charge on one of the steamboats." He said.

"Your job sure does have a lot of perks." Sarah told him, "Luxury train cars, free steamboat rides… what else?"

"I don't know." Lex responded gruffly, "I never find such comfort in luxuries."

"What a bore." Lian said and shook her head, "If you have the choice for luxuries, you should take them. Not everyone has them."

"Interesting insight from you, princess." Lex told her as he avoided a stray cat.

"Just because I'm wealthy doesn't' mean I'm aloof." Lian responded, causing her two allies to look back with doubtful looks on their faces.  
"You just don't understand a more refined and cultured way of thinking." She crossed her arms, then noticed they were in a rough patch of neighborhood.

"Why this?" Sarah looked at the surroundings, which were old and worn out, and the people here while less numerous glared at them with every corner of their eye.

"The jail is just up ahead." Lex informed, "This is why this part is quite-" he stopped when he heard a grumble.

"Is than an enemy stand?" Lian walked next to him when she heard another grumble, then looked around.

"I hope not. Not in this neighborhood." Lex also looked around, then heard another grumble louder than before.

"Oh no, guys…" Sarah mumbled and held her stomach, "I- I'm just a bit hungry…." She said sheepishly, and another grumble came out of her belly.

Lian sighed and shifted her tiara side to side, "What a pain…"

"Perhaps we can get something to eat at this restaurant?" Lian asked as she pointed to the only refined building in the area, a large diner and inn.  
"It's the only building I can tolerate right now." She disgustingly looked at the other run-down buildings in the area.

"Then let us make it quick." Sarah said as the three diverted their tracks to the inn.

Lex opened the door for the two.

"My, what a gentleman." Lian chuckled, but then snarled when she was hit by a thick cloud of smoke from inside.  
"Blegh." She shook her head.

All the people inside looked at the new comers.

The inn was covered in smoke from what appeared to be many of the clients smoking, and those clients were mostly made up of gruff and tuff men of great stature and build. They were very intimidating and sported all types of tattoos, scars, and piercing that made them look even more aggressive.

"If it isn't a lawboy." One of the clients jeered when he saw Lex's body, but immediately took that back when the smoke cleared and revealed his face.

"Lex!?" all the clients jumped back in shock and looked at him with widened eyes.

"I'm going to get a piece of food for my witness here." Lex addressed them all, "If anyone dares interfere with the transaction, they will pay what the Law demands!" he pointed.

The clients stood silent and Lex made his way to the counter, Sarah and Lian following behind.

"My My, what a tough man." Lian chuckled as she walked alongside Lex, "I thought I was going to have to give them a beating." She said and made Power Khan appear out of her.

"There criminals know all too well who they are dealing with." Lex responded and pointed at the bartender.  
"I'd like an order of food."

"Pleasure seeing you around, Lex." The bartender responded, "Finally some peace and order comes around to this dump. What'll it be?"

Sarah walked up and looked at the menu.  
"Can I just have a pulled pork sandwhich? And a glass of water?" she asked.

The bartender nodded and walked to a window behind him.  
"A number 3 with water!" he yelled into it, "It'll be a few, but it's on the house." He informed.

Lex nodded and sat down.

"Excuse me, I have to go to the restroom." Sarah told her two allies, then turned to the bartender, "Where are the lavoratories?"

"Down the hall, ma'am." The bartender responded with a flick of his thumb.

Sarah nodded and stood up, then walked to the dark hallway.

"Hold on." Lex stood up.

"I can take care of myself, you know?" Sarah turned and showed her stand to him, "I'll be right back."  
She said and walked down the hallway.  
On her right where a couple of open doors with curtains in front of them, allowing the light inside the rooms to peer out from under.  
"Now which ones are the restrooms-" she stopped when she saw a platter of chicken served in front of the rooms.

Sarah stopped and looked at the food hungrily.  
"Hmmm… I really shouldn't." she pondered, then smelled the savory aroma coming from the platter.

"Ma'am, that's for the private room." A waiter popped out from the kitchen door, "I'm just about to serve it."

"Just a bite?" Sarah asked as she pointed to a leg.

"No ma-" the waiter stopped when Sarah was already eating the leg.

"Oh… how delicious!" Sarah smiled and bit more off, "Oh this is just heavenly! Bless the Pyre!" she munched on it.

The waiter was about to say something when a dark figure came out of the private room and loomed over the young woman.  
"Ah… ah…" he stammered and pointed.

Sarah was oblivious and set the chicken bone down, then ate two pieces of celery.  
"Mmm…. That wa-" she noticed there was a difference in light and turned around.

A large man of eastern appearance stood behind her. He had coal black hair that ran down his back and was tied in a ponytail on one part and had elegant robes. These robes had golden lining that held large pieces of jade. His face was tough and his eyebrows were as thick as roots.  
"What have we here?" the man murmured and laid hold on Sarah's arm, "Not only does this wench eat my food, but also leaves her waste on my platter?!" he snarled.

"Ah…." Sarah gulped.

"I could kill you right now and no one would know." The man continued, "Tell no one!" he yelled at the waiter as he pulled her into his private room with a knife to her throat.

Sarah waited for the opportune moment to strike back.

The man's private room held 4 women inside, some scantily clothed and others in a bathtub. They all gasped when they saw what he brought in.  
"No one speak!" the man told them all and looked at Sarah, "I'm going to teach you a lesson…"

Sarah closed her eyes, then made Furious Flame appear and uppercut the man through the wall, making him fly out of the inn proper.

The women inside screamed and ran out in horror at the sight, causing further commotion in the dining area.

Lex and Lian looked at each other and ran to the hall, where they saw Sarah standing inside one of the private rooms looking at a hole in the wall.

"Sarah, are you alright?" Lian asked as she ran to her side, then saw the man she had punched slowly rise up.  
"Well… if it isn't someone from my country." She recognized the familiar clothing.

"You insolent woman!" The man glared at Sarah and stood straight.

"Stop this right now!" Lex pointed at him, but the man was unintimidated by his presence.

"I demand a duel between you and I!" the man pointed at Sarah, "She has dishonored me by stealing my food. I know its in our traditions to do so, no?" he looked at Lian.

"Hmph." Lian crossed her arms, "It is…"

"I only took a leg of his chicken!" Sarah told the two, "It's nothing!"

"It is not nothing." Lex responded, "If it belonged to another and you took it, that is theft. And if these are in the traditions of the locals, I can do nothing more than watch justice be dealt. But only the Outer Tribunal can enforce death!" he pointed at the man, "Let this duel be non-fatal!"

The man smirked, "I'll try." He said.

"You have to be kidding!" Sarah shook her head.

"Come on, you got this." Lian said, "Just beat him with your stand and you'll win." She chuckled and pushed her out of the in.

"Oof!" Sarah landed on the grass and dusted herself off.  
"Great… I guess I can get this over with quickly." She said, "Furious Flame!" she called out her stand, and it appeared.  
"Fire Blast!"

Furious Flame extended both her hands and fired a blast of fire towards the man.

"Hmph." The man stood unafraid, and right when the fire was about to hit, it formed a vortex that towered above him harmlessly.

Their three eyes opened in shock when they saw that a stand had appeared from the man.

"What?!" Lian gasped.

"Impossible!" Lex growled.

The man's stand was a robed figure much like its user, but had some armor of gold covering its chest, legs, shoulders, and forearms. It also had a face mask that covered half its face, revealing only two yellow eyes with black pupils and its black long hair.  
The stand also carried a long sword with a golden hilt and vibrant steel that reflected the sunlight.

"It seems I'm not the only one with the fighting spirit…" the man chuckled and made the flames shoot out of his sword and into the air, where it disappeared.

"You have a stand too?" Sarah asked.

"I have named my fighting spirit Qian Shou, or translated…" the man said, "Thousand Hands!" he showed off his stands mobility and speed it its blade by tracing out a picture of Lian on the muddy ground.

"What expertise!" Lian gasped, "But you did get my hips wrong." She pointed.

"Silence!" the man said, "Face me now, woman, and do your best, since you face Zhin!" he pointed at her.

Sarah gulped and looked at the man and his stand,  
"I didn't want to do this, but…" she called out Furious Flame, "It's safe enough to. I have a wide open space…. To… PYRE STRIKE!"

Furious Flame yelled and cast down a pillar of fire as if it threw a lightning bolt.

"What!?" Zhin stepped back and made his stand take the brunt of it.  
"Hrrr…" he saw that the left side armor of his stand had melted off, "Impressive, most impressive. But the armor was just a handicap for you." He cast made the stand cast the rest of it off, "Because now that it is removed, Thousand Hand will show you why it is called a Thousand Hands!"

Sarah pointed him, "You won't survive another!"

Zhin smirked and saw the beam of fire come down again.  
"Thousand Hands!" he called out his stand, which moved it sword around so rapidly that it appeared it had a thousand hands through the after images.

"No way!" Lian gasped, "That's incredible... That speed!"

"Hahahaha." Zhin chuckled as he saw that the pyre strike was cut to small embers, "Don't you see, I'm too fast. Now it's your turn!"  
Thousand Hands charged towards Sarah.

Furious Flame intercepted it and tried to intercept all the attacks, but was cut and stabbed multiple times.

"Ha…." Sarah groaned as all the cuts and stabs appeared on her body.  
"Ha… Ha…" she panted and fell to her knees.

"Sarah!" Lex called out.

"No! I'm still not out!" Sarah growled and looked at Zhin and his Thousand Hands, "I can win this!" she blasted a beam of fire.

"COUNTER!" Zhin yelled, and the blade of his Thousand Hands glowed magically.  
When the fire blast struck the blade, it was sent flying back towards its target.

Sarah gasped and narrowly avoided her own attack.

"It is useless." Zhin taunted, "With my spirit's speed and its ability to Counter, nothing well get past me without going back to you!"

"Hmph…" Sarah grunted and recalled her stand.

"Giving up already?" Zhin asked.

"No!" Sarah ran to face him with her own body, "I'll beat you up myself!"

"Ha!" Zhin laughed and blocked all her punches and kicks with his stand, "Foolish girl!" he said, "If your fighting spirit could not defeat me, you have no chance either!"  
Thousand Hands grabbed Sarah by the neck and cut across her chest, then threw her back to the ground.

"Ungh…" Sarah panted.

"Defeated." Zhin scoffed, "I would have kept you in my grasp, but you would have just punched me with your spirit like you did last time."

"Heh… funny how my spirit always plays in, huh?" Sarah smirked.

"Huh?" Zhin looked confused, since he was expecting a tone of defeat from her.

"You may be fast of action, but not of understanding." Sarah said, "Did you really think I would retract my stand and face you without using it?" she chuckled.

Underground, Furious Flame was casting fire on a pipeline.

"What are you talking about?" Zhin snarled.

"I'm saying that when facing stands, you should always be aware of their presence." Sarah told him.

"You dare teach me how to fight in combat?" Zhin responded.

"Yes… because now you're in deep shit." Sarah grinned.

The pipeline that Furious Flame was heating up burst open and shot out its pressurized contents straight through the ground and under Zhin.

"WHA!?" Zhin yelled as he was taken up by this scalding geyser of sewage waste.

"Now!" Sarah called out and Furious Flame appeared from underground and grabbed Zhin, then slammed him into a tree and then into the ground multiple times.  
"Burn!" she said, and Furious Flame made fire appear from its hands.

"AHH!" Zhin cried out as he was covered in fire.  
"I will not… surrender…." he tried to pick himself up.

Sarah shook her head and threw the knife he had used to threaten her to the ground near him.  
She then turned her back.

"Sarah, what are you doing?" Lain called out.

Zhin snarled and looked at the knife, ignoring the flames that burnt around him.  
However, he did not reach for it and fell face first.

Sarah sighed and snapped her fingers, then the fires left Zhin.

"Ha.. ha…" the man panted, "Why did you do that?"

"I knew there was something honorable about you." Sarah turned to face him, "Behind that gruff exterior and aggression, you still had a semblance of nobility in your soul."

Zhin murmured silently.  
Then stood up.  
"You have fought well." He bowed alongside his Thousand Hands, "I apologize for my outbursts… I did not choose this life you have seen on my own accord."

"I know. Something troubles your soul. My Pyre detected it." Sarah told him.

"I am looking for those who killed my mother." Zhin responded, "However, along the way, I may have fallen astray into a life in the underworld." He added, "I would do anything for the chance to avenge her and redeem myself."

Sarah's ears perked up.  
"Do you wish to help us?" she asked.

"Hmmm?" Zhin murmured.

"We are on a journey to stop my sister from using the Abyss to conquer The World." Sarah informed, "Unfortunately we found out that she is using assassins to find and kill us, all with their own stands!"

"Do you not suppose he may be one of the assassins?!" Lian told Sarah.

"No… I saw his soul." Sarah said, "With my Pyre Energy. He has not known of Seris or the Abyss."

Zhin stood silent.  
"What is a stand?"

"A stand is basically what you're calling a fighting spirit." Sarah informed and pointed at Thousand Hands, "No one else can see it except others who have it."

Zhin recollected the murder of his mother.  
"Those who killed my mother had what you called a stand…" he said, "Perhaps your sister, since she is employing the most sinister of those people, has already hired them. Very well, I will join you to find a chance to avenge my mother!" he said.

"Yes!" Sarah cheered and looked at Lian and Lex, who stood silent and groaned.

"I am Zhin." Zhin walked up to Lex and Lian, "Master Swordsman of the House of Fuxiang." He told them, "My stand's name is the Thousand Hands!"

 **0000000**

"I have some witnesses I need to take to the South." Lex told the ticket master of the dock, "We need the next steamboat." He showed him his badge.

"Absolutely, sir. And tell the constabulary to actually pay me this time." The ticket master spoke and grabbed four tickets.  
"You are on the ship _The Blue Moon_ arriving at noon today. So in three hours." He looked at the clock.

Lex nodded and grabbed the tickets, then gave them to his allies.

"We have three hours to kill." Lian spoke, "Perhaps we should grab a bite to eat?" she asked the group.

"Sure." Lex nodded, "I am feeling hungry myself."

"Yes!" Sarah grinned happily.

"Just don't steal food this time." Zhin smirked, causing everyone but Sarah to chuckle.

* * *

 **If you'd like to review, please do!  
I hope you are enjoying this story!**


	5. Way Down Upon the River

**Lian's Peculiar Adventure: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 5**

 **Way Down The Rapid River, Deadly it Roams**

* * *

"Hurry up, we're going to be late!" Sarah yelled as the four ran out of the inn and towards the docks.

"If it wasn't for Lian stuffing her fat face and falling asleep, we wouldn't have this problem!" Zhin responded.

"You take that back!" Lian growled, "I am not fat faced!"

"Be quiet, you two…" Lex growled as he looked at the time on the nearby clock tower, "5 minutes until noon…."

"We can make it in time." Zhin said, "I know a shortcut." He pressed left.

"Wait, where are you-" Lex grumbled and followed behind him.

"This better be good." Lian continued, only to find that the short cut Zhin spoke of was a steep hill.

The four slid down once they set foot on it, with Lex, Lian, and Sarah doing so chaotically.

"WAK!" Sarah grunted as she tumbled down.

"Hurry up!" Zhin said as he slid down perfectly and finally set foot on flat ground.  
"Come on!" he helped Lex up, then Lian, then Sarah.

"Could you not have chosen a straighter path?" Lex grumbled as he dusted off his tunic.

Lian sighed in pain and shifted her tiara side to side, "What a pain…" she murmured and held her elbow.

"Hurry, we'll miss it." Zhin pointed to the docks, which were now a walk away.

The four scurried to make it, bumping into people and cargo as they did.

"All aboard!" a man yelled as he stood by a plank leading to a steamboat, "Last call!"

"Wait!" Lian yelled and they reached the man in time.  
"Here!" she said and nearly shoved her ticket into his face.

"Ok ok!" the sailor shook his head and grabbed all their tickets, "get on, we're fixin to leave!"

The four walked up to the steamboat, which gave a toot of its horn as the sailor started to retracted the plank.

"I hope this is the right ship." Lian said and peered over the side, then saw the name.  
 _THE BLUE MOON.  
_ "Good." She nodded and walked to meet up with her allies.

0000000

It was now the afternoon, and the steamboat chugged along the river.  
The Paladins were lounging around on the deck watching the sailors do their tasks.

Lian and Lex were playing a game of chess together while Sarah was drinking some tea.

"I'm going to take a bath." Zhin told the three.

"Why?" asked Lian as she moved her bishop.

"If you didn't notice, I was splattered with sewer water." Zhin said and smelled his clothing.

"Sorry about that." Sarah rubbed the back of her head.

Zhin shrugged his shoulders and walked into the ship's quarters.

"Ahoy there, passenger!" a man walked up to him.  
He was a tall man with a black beard and purple captain's clothing, "What are ye looking fer on me fine ship?" he asked him.

"I am looking for the bathroom to shower." Zhin told him, "You must be the captain."

"That be right." The captain responded, "And the bathroom are just over yonder by the octopus statues. You do need one." He chuckled, "Ye smell like the bottom of a chum barrel." He said and walked out.

Zhin grumbled and walked to the bathroom, where he saw a copper bathtub and a showerhead inside.  
"Good." He said and prepared himself.

The minutes passed by as Zhin showered himself and came out refreshed. He then took his time to place on his new robes and clean his old ones in the bathtub.  
Zhin hummed as he wrung his clothes and looked at one of the cabinets nearby, "It is best to put them up, lest someone steals them." He murmured.

The man walked up to the cabinet and opened, only to have a piercing yell ring his ears.

There was an elf woman inside the cabinet.

"What!?" Zhin exclaimed, "What are you doing here!? Are you spying on me!?" he yelled and grabbed her by the arm.

"Get away from me!" the elf woman cried out and pulled out a knife.

Zhin growled and called out Thousand Hands to hit it out of her hands.

"Ah!" The elf woman gasped and fell to the ground.  
"Please! You can't tell anyone I'm in here!" she said, "I'm a-"

"A stowaway…" a gruff voice sounded from behind.  
It was the captain.

"Huh?" Zhin turned.

"Pardon me fer intruding on yer privacy." The captain said and fixed his coat, "But I've heard noises during the night on me ship. And I suspect it was you, you large rat!" he pointed at the elf woman.

Zhin observed as the captain grabbed hold of the elf woman and picked her up.

"You'll pay dearly fer that, ye scoundrel!" the captain shook her and took her outside.

Zhin followed them all the way back to the deck, where the captain showed her off to the crew.

"What's going on?" Lian walked up to Zhin, "Who is that?"

"A stowaway, apparently." Zhin answered.

"This is not good." Lex told them as he walked up to them with Sarah, "I specifically requested this boat because it was a cargo ship."

"And?" Lian asked.

"Cargo ships do not carry anyone else but the crew." Lex responded, "I chose it so we could avoid a tragedy like what happened on the train. But that means if that woman is on board on the specific boat I selected…"

"She could be one of the assassins sent by my sister!" Sarah yelled.

"I'll have ye know stowaways are serious criminals on me ship!" the captain called out and shook the elf woman, "Ye best be ready for the punishment coming straight fer ye!"

"Hold on, captain." Lex walked up to him, "Captain…"

"I be Captain Judd Roberts." The captain responded, "I've sailed every waterway in and around the realm for decades, and stowaway always got the same treatment from me."

"Please, let me go!" the elf woman called out, "I have to make it to Havarna! I have to!"

"Let me handle this." Lex said and grabbed the woman from the captain's grasp.  
"What is your name, woman?" he asked.

"I am Valeria." The elf responded, "I am on my way to meet my friends and family…"

"Well, the Law dictates that you are punished with a fine." Lex told her, "That is the punishment for stowaways. Pay 4 times the amount the trip costed!"

"Ye and I disagree, lawman." Captain Roberts spoke as he grabbed Valeria back, "And this be my ship, so my laws go! Throw her overboard!" he called over some of his sailors.

Lex growled as he saw some sailors grab hold of the elf.

"I can't! The Rebellion must succeed!" Valeria cried out as she was led to the side of the ship.

However, a scaly arm appeared from the ship's side and grabbed one of the sailor's legs, pulling him down and overboard.

"What!?" Captain Judd Roberts yelled as the same thing happened to the other sailor that was holding Valeria.

Valeria stood gasping as a being appeared behind her.

It was a scaly dragon like creature with gills and spikes over its back. It appeared to have an eyepatch over its right eye and had a red bandanna wrapped on top of its head. It was also covered in scaly armor that covered its groin and its chest.

"She is a stand user!" Sarah pointed at the being behind the elf.

"A what!? What are ye pointing at!?" Captain Roberts looked at them, "What got me men!?"

"Stand back, Captain." Zhin said as he made Thousand Hands appear.

However, the stand dove back into the depths of the river.

"Take out the user and you will stop the stand!"

"The what?" Valeria stammered as she saw the four walking towards her.  
"What are you talking about!?"

"Enough words!" Lian said and made Power Khan charge, but the stand appeared and blocked its blow from hitting Valeria.  
"What?" she gasped and blocked a blow from its spiny arm.

Valeria flinched and covered her eyes.

Power Khan blocked the punches from the stand and bobbed and weaved any kicks, but before it could attack, the stand dove back into the water.  
"Hrrr." Lian growled and pounded on the railings, "It keeps running away!"

"Stop right there!" Lex yelled and held Valeria at gunpoint with The Law.  
"You are not getting away."

Valeria whimpered and capitulated before Lex, but once again the stand came out and sucker punched The Law, making both it and Lex stagger back.

"I have you!" Lian tried to reach it with Power Khan, but was too late and only grabbed water before it retracted.

"Watch out!" Sarah said as the stand appeared once again and tried to hit Zhin, then grazed it with fire with her Furious Flame.

The stand retracted with its arm scalded by the fire.

"Hrrrr…" Lian looked around, waiting for it to strike back, but then noticed something with Power Khan.

"I have you now!" Lex finally laid hold on Valeria and put her in a chokehold.

"Wait!" Lian yelled, "She's not the stand user!" she cried out, but Lex was once again punched by the stand.

"Argh!" Lex groaned and tried to stand up, "What are you saying?!" he growled and looked at Valeria.

"You must have a reason to say that, Lian!" Sarah said, "Because all I see is that stand defending her."

"You told me that if a stand gets damaged, the damage is translated to its user." Lian responded, then pointed at Captain Judd Roberts, "Well I managed to look at him with Power Khan and saw smoke rising from his right arm!"

"What?" the Captain shook his head, "What are ye talking about, lassie?" he said and crossed his arms.

"Power Khan has a sharp sense of sight." Lian informed, "And I saw that when the stand got burned by Sarah, smoke rose from your coat! Now show your right arm!"

"Ye have gone seasick!" the captain growled, "I know not what ye talk about!"

Zhin, however, snuck up behind him and pulled his arms apart.

Surely enough, a part of the captain's coat on his right arm was burned off.

"Just like the place I struck the stand…" Sarah muttered, "It is you!"

Captain Roberts growled and knew he was found out.  
"Excellent deduction, laddies, yet ye ferget one thing. Ye are on me boat, and on me boat! I rule!" he yelled.

The captain's stand jumped out from the water and slashed Zhin's back with its sharp claws.

"AGH!" Zhin released the captain and fell back.

Captain Judd Roberts chuckled and ran with his stand to the edge of the boat, then made his stand grab hold of Valeria.  
"Such a shame… I was planning to sink you all to the bottom one by one." He chuckled, "But since I've been found out by this turkey legged maiden, it's all out the window. But I guess my stand SEVEN SEAS SCOURGE can still turn ye all into chum!"

"Help!" Valeria screamed as she struggled with the stand, "What's holding me!?" she looked around.

"Now I know ye wouldn't let this young woman go to Davy Jone's locker." Captain Roberts smirked, "So…" he jumped back.

"Ah!" Lian, who was closest, sprung to action and brought out Power Khan to catch them before they fell into the water, but missed.

"Uh oh!" Captain Roberts popped out of the water, "Looks like ye were too slow, ye snow headed wench!" he chuckled, "Oh well!"

Seven Seas Scourge raised its claws and slashed Valeria's neck, killing her instantly.

"NO!" Sarah screamed in horror.

"That monster!" Lex yelled and called out his stand, then started to fire.

"Hahahahaha!" Captain Roberts dove under to avoid the bullet fire.

"He's down there…." Zhin snarled and shook his fist, "His stand looks like it excels in water… How can we even challenge it?"

"If we stop standing around like a bunch of fools!" Lian yelled and jumped overboard.

"Lian!" Lex called out, but she had already plunged into the dark waters.

Under the river, Lian looked around for any signs of Captain Roberts, but only found Valeria's body floating nearby.  
She shook her head and resurfaced.  
"Here." She made Power Khan lift up the body, "Take her!"

Sarah nodded and used her stand to fly down and pick her up.  
"Oh my…" she said and set her down on the deck.

Under the water, Lian once again continued her search for the captain.  
"Power Khan… do you see anything-" she gasped when she saw a rocky object heading her way.

"RAH!" Power Khan yelled and grabbed the item, it was a harpoon made of… a shell-like material.

"What the?" Lian murmured, but then saw it glow, "Oh no!" she yelled and made Power Khan throw it away, where it exploded violently.

On the boat, Zhin saw the ripples from the explosion, "What's going on down there!?"

Back below water, Lian was ever observant.  
"How long can I hold my breath?" she murmured and then started to swim back to the surface.  
"Ha…" she took in a deep breath of air when she stuck her head out, "I still haven't found him, but he can shoot explosive harpoons!" she informed her allies.

"You need to get out of the water!" Lex told her, "We'll take this ship to land to escape him!" he said and pointed to some sailors.

However, a harpoon shot out from the waters and struck a sailor clean through his head.

"AGH!" Sarah and some sailors fell back in horror.

"Get away from the sides!" Zhin told all the sailors, who followed his orders without hesitation.

"Get that harpoon off the ship!" Lian warned.

Lex saw the harpoon starting to glow, then called out The Law and threw it overboard, where it exploded midair.

"Get on board!" Sarah called out to Lian.

"Alright!" Lian said and started to swim towards the boat but was suddenly dragged under.

"LIAN!" her three allies yelled.

Lian screamed as Seven Seas Scourge grabbed her leg and started to scratch her thighs.

"I'm going to turn yer turkey legs into mincemeat!" Captain Judd Roberts appeared from the darkness of the waters and cackled.  
"Seris has promised me riches untold and a treasure beyond imagination if I kill you all." He smirked.

Lian growled as she was started to be sucked into a whirlpool.

"My stand has complete control over the Eight Seas!" Captain Roberts informed, "It is a master in the water, no other can challenge it!"

"Good thing we're in a river, not the seas." Lian chuckled, "That means I have a chance…" she called out Power Khan and punched Seven Seas Scourge.

"What!?" Captain Roberts groaned and held his bloody nose, "How are you so fast in the water?!"

"Power Khan is fast anywhere!" Lian laughed and grabbed Seven Seas Scourge with Power Khan, "Do you want to see?"

Captain Roberts gasped for air as his enemy's stand was grabbing his by the neck.

"You'll pay for what you did to that woman… and for calling me turkey legs!" Lian yelled.  
"RAA! RAA! RAA! RAA! RAA! RAA! RAA!" she yelled as Power Khan let out a flurry of punches.

"UWAH…" Captain Roberts groaned as his stand was being beat to a pulp.

"RAA! RAA! RAA!" Lian started slowing down, and then her eyes opened.  
She needed oxygen, and fast.

Captain Roberts felt her stand's grip falter and broke free, "I see yer a landlubber." He chuckled and made Seven Seas Scourge punch Power Khan in the stomach.  
"Unfortunately fer ye, my stand allows me to breathe underwater." He cackled, "But since you can't I won't let ye escape!" he strengthened the whirlpool dragging Lian down.

"Agh…" Lian gasped for and held her throat.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Captain Roberts laughed as Seven Seas Scourge swam around Lian, taking free slashes on her body with its dragon claws.

Lian panted and darted her eyes for the surface.  
She felt helpless and faint.  
However, she noticed something sparkle in the water.

It was the metal head band Valeria was wearing was she was still alive.

Lian fixed on it, but her vision was becoming blurred.

"Before ye go to Davy Jones, you'll see that yer friends are next!" Captain Roberts said and made Seven Seas Scourge make two harpoons in its hands and throw them at the hull of the ship.

Lian snarled.

"HAHAHAHA-"

Power Khan suddenly appeared and kicked Valeria's head ornament straight into the captain's head, the sharp part that held a blue crystal driving straight into his forehead.

"AGHHHH!" Captain Roberts screamed in pain as his blood flowed out into the water and his stand retracted.

Lian felt the whirlpool weaken but used the remaining power she had left to command Power Khan to punch the head ornament deeper into Robert's head.

"Down…. I go…" Captain Roberts murmured as he sunk into the bottom of the dark river.

Lian, however, made it to the surface in time and took the deepest breath she had ever taken.  
"Aahhhh…" she gasped and spat out river water from her mouth.

"Lian!" Lex called out.

"I killed the Captain…" Lian said and shook her head, but then remembered the harpoons on the bow.

The explosions that followed shook the waters around the ship.

"What was that?!" Sarah called out, then felt the ship bob forward.

"The Captain threw harpoons at the ship!" Lian said as she swam to the boat, "He was planning on sinking it to kill you all after me!"

Lex and Sarah helped the princess come up to the boat with their stands.

"We're taking in water!" one of the sailors came out from under the boat, "We need to abandon ship!"

 **00000000**

The four Paladins floated down a life boat alongside the sailors that had survived the doomed vessel's voyage.

"Where to?" Zhin asked them as he looked around.

The river was surrounded by thick forests that gave no sense of direction to anyone.

"We should keep following the river." Sarah told him, "That's where the ship was headed anyways."

"Shore!" one of the sailors on another boat pointed to an open area at the bend of the river, and they all started to make their way to the clearing.


	6. Trees are Forever

**Lian's Peculiar Adventure: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 6**

 **Trees are Forever**

* * *

The marooned crew landed on the shore and started to make a campground on the grassy plain.

"Some of us will go on ahead and inspect the trail that leads to the woods." One of the sailors explained to Lian and her group, "For you and the rest, you will wait here and hopefully another steamboat stops by or we find a nearby town via the trail."

"Very well." Lian nodded.

"Sounds like a better plan than I could have thought of." Zhin shrugged his shoulders and took his ease on a nearby rock.  
"To think the captain was the stand user, crazy, huh?"

"Just goes to show how dedicated your sister is to getting rid of us." Lian told Sarah, "She'll hire anyone for any part to go to any place."

"The mind of a master psychopath." Lex commented as he dusted off his boots, "The sooner we get to her, the sooner the hand of the law can do its justice! She has caused too many innocent deaths!"

Sarah nodded and looked at Valeria's grave nearby.  
"This is all she had…" she brought out a book, a black crystal, some coins, and an apple from a satchel, "She had nothing to do with this!"

"What a beautiful crystal…" Lian mumbled and looked at it, then put it in her hands.  
"It's emanating with some kind of magic."

"Criminal scum of your sister's caliber do not care who they hurt." Lex grunted and crossed his arms, "I have met to many of them to have my views changed. They all deserve death."

Lian sighed.  
"Let's try to lighten the mood." she said, "Say Lex, I never got to beat you at chess."

"If I remember correctly, I was winning." Lex responded, "You only had your king, three pawns, and your rooks left while I had only a bishop and my knights missing."

"That doesn't mean I couldn't win. I've been trained in chess by the finest teachers in the land." Lian said, "There's no way I could have lost to you."

"There there, princess." Zhin chuckled, "Perhaps you can try to win again next time."

"Hmph." Lian grunted.

00000000

It was night at the camp, and everyone was heading to sleep after dinner.

Sarah had already made a makeshift tent for them to sleep under and was now setting up the blankets.

Lian had come out of the nearby forest.  
"Ugh… To think I had to relieve myself in the wild." She grumbled, "How unsightly for a princess!" she shook her hands in disgust.

Zhin came from talking to some sailors and had some biscuits on a platter.  
"I managed to get some extra food." He informed the two women, "Where is Lex?"

"Over there." Sarah pointed at Lex, who was on the shore by Valeria's grave.

"Hmmm…" Lian mumbled, "I'll see what's up with him." She said and walked over to the enforcer.

"Lian, I didn't expect you to be here." Lex noticed her presence but maintained his vision on the grave.

"Why not?" Lian asked and stood next to him.

"You said you weren't a fan of somber moments with your comment in the afternoon." Lex responded and faced her, "How can I help you?"

"I was going to ask what you were doing here, but with your attitude perhaps I can leave you." Lian said and turned away.

"I made a vow."

Lian stopped.

"I vowed to stop criminals so no more innocent people could get hurt." Lex continued, "That is why I uphold the Law, to stop evil at its root." He clenched his fist and turned to face her.

"That's… good." Lian nodded.

The silence between the two was deafening.

"Alright." Lex responded and walked up to her.

"Zhin brought biscuits." Lian told him, "If you want some that is."

"I could taste a bite." Lex nodded and the two walked back to their part of the camp, but stopped when they heard screaming in the woods.

"What was that?" Sarah stood up.

The remaining sailors stood up as well and grabbed lanterns.

"That was close by." Zhin pointed to the trail that led to the woods.

"Let's go check it out then." Lian looked at Lex, "Perhaps someone needs our help."

Lex led the group to the trail, followed by the sailors.

The group was helpful for these people as they brought the lanterns that helped them see in this thick forest brush. The canopy above them blocked the little light that was already shining down.

"Where do you think that scream was?" one of the sailors asked Lex.

"I don't know…" Lex mumbled and looked at his allies.

"I heard it over there, further down the trail." Zhin spoke and started to walk forward.

The others followed behind him.

The woods became thicker and thicker the further they ventured into the trail. The brush becoming so think that some sailors feared that they would light it with their fires.

"It seems the people the ventured here have helped us out a bit." Sarah commented as she noticed much of the brush was cut bac

"These woods are unbelievable thick…." Lian struggled to look through the trees.

"And they only get thicker." Lex commented as they continued venturing down, "Watch out." he raised his hand when he noticed a decline on the path, then helped Lian walk down it.

Lian took the lead as the entourage walked down the trail.  
"Look at this!" she said and punched away a branch with Power Khan, "I can hardly breathe with all these stupid plants around me!"

"Ouch!" one of the sailors yelped, causing them to turn to the man.  
"What the hell!?" he yelled and picked up what he stepped on: a machete.

"That looks like what the sailors who came in here were carrying." Sarah spoke.

"Take a look at this!" another sailor said and pointed at a sailor hat on a branch.

"Something is odd about this place." Zhin murmured, "I feel it in my spirit."

"UROH…" a soft groan sounded through the night.

"What is that?" Lian managed to spot a soft glow in the woods, then walked to it.  
After punching some foliage, she saw a much concerning sight.

An ent was trapped in chains facing a fire surrounded by axes and signs of previous habitation.

"What the?" Lian said and broke through the plants blocking her path.  
"What… are you?" she asked the ent, seeing it was in pain.

"Ent…. Forest…" the ent responded as it trembled in the chains.

"Miss! Are you ok?!" a voice called from out of the woods, and two sailors appeared with machetes.

"Yes, I am." Lian responded, "Can you help me reach that ent?" she said and noted the thick vines separating her from the helpless ent.

"Alright!" the two raised their machetes and were about to cut the vines until a branch suddenly appeared from nowhere and impaled one of the sailors in the neck.

"What?!" Lian and the other sailor gasp as the branch carried away the sailor into the thick brush.

"Get away from me!" the sailor noted the vines he was about to cut head towards him and cut them, however, the cut vines moved like snakes and climbed on the sailor's legs.  
"What's going on!?" he screamed and saw the vines come out from under his shirt, then they wrapped around his neck and snapped it.

"Ha!" Lian gasped and looked at the Ent, who was now free from its chains.  
"You!" she pointed at it.

Suddenly, a nearby flower shot out spikes from its center.

Power Khan appeared and caught all the spikes except one, which bore deep into her shoulder.

"AH!" Lian yelped and glared at the Ent, "You! You're the stand user! Your Stand must control plants!"

"You… hurt plants…." The ent slowly spoke, "Plants… hurt you…."

"I'll show you who hurts who!" Lian said and burst into the area where the ent was, "Take-"

A tree suddenly bent and smacked her with its full girth.

"AHHH!" Lian screamed as she was knocked back into the woods.

"Lian!" Lex yelled as he she landed a few meters away from the rest of the group, "What happened?!"

"Ha… Ha…" Lian panted, "I found and ent, and he's the stand user!" she informed, "His stand can control plants!" she warned.

Suddenly, a tree came down and crushed three sailors.

"AH!" Sarah screamed when nearby ferns shot out like spears and impaled the surviving sailors across their bodies.

"Watch out!" Zhin said and protected Sarah with from some vines, "What!?" he saw that the vines continued to move, so he cut them down to small bits.

"Ha… ha… ha…." The ent from before appeared from the brush and glared at them with his green eyes.

"That's him!" Lian pointed at the forest creature, "Now show us your stand!"

"I am…. Grover…." The ent responded, "I am… forest guardian."

Suddenly, a tree came down and aimed to crush them.

"Hrah!" Power Khan appeared and punched the tree in two, then threw it to the sky.

"I have him!" Zhin said and jumped towards Grover, "Take this!" he yelled and made Thousand Hands appear and stab.

However, Zhin came to realize that Grover was gone, and that he was only stabbing the tree behind him.  
Worse of all, he found that he could no longer move his stand's sword.

"What!?"

"Zhin!" Sarah said as she saw the tree start pulling in his stand.

"I… Can't move it!" Zhin growled.

"Stand back!" Lian said and Power Khan punched the tree, snapping it in half and allowing a window of opportunity for Zhin to call back his stand.

"Grover…"

Lex turned to see the ent behind him.  
"The Law!" he called out his stand, and it immediately started firing at him.

Grover, however, did the most surprising thing, he disappeared into the tree.

"What!? AH!" Sarah gasped when roots from under the earth appeared and grabbed hold of her legs, then pulled her down into the earth.

"Sarah!" Lian yelled, and then saw vines constrict the woman's arms.

"I- I can't move!" Zhin yelled as the same thing happened to him, but this instance was the branches from the trees holding him.

"What is going on!?" Lex called out as some vines wrapped around him.

"Hold- AH!" Lian was grabbed by a tree, "HRAH!" she called out Power Khan, but it was immediately surrounded by vines, roots, and all sort of foliage and bound.  
"I can't do anything! I can't even see his stand!" Lian said as Grover reappeared from the ground

Grover murmured as he looked at the humans.

"Unless…."  
"His stand is…"

"The Forest!?" the four yelled.

"No... it is FEAR THE FOLIAGE..." Grover told them, "Humans… are always…. Destroying nature….. Yet they only cry when nature…. Destroys them… It is time they remember their primal... fears..."

Lex groaned as the vines started to strangle him.

"RA!" Power Khan yelled and freed one of his arms, only to have it immediately restrained by more foliage.

"How could we be so foolish?" Sarah groaned, "We walked right into it!"

"We didn't know, that's the problem." Lex added.

Lian panted, then looked at Grover.  
"Hey stupid plant!" she yelled, "You're messing with royalty here! I will command my soldiers to burn this good for nothing wood heap to the ground if you don't release me."

Grover growled.

"I swear, when I get out, you all will be nothing but papers the commoner wipes his rear end over!" Lian continued.

Grover roared at her face.

"Bingo." Lian smirked and pulled out the dark crystal from her pocket with the little movement she was allowed, then threw it in front of Grover's face.

"RAH!" Power Khan broke his left arm free and drove the crystal into the ent's head faster than he could react.

"AGGHHHHHH!" Grover roared as the crystal cracked and released a surge of black magic into his head.

"And since you're all connected, that'll only spread so you can't escape it." Lian said as Grover held his head.  
"And you also won't escape this!" she yelled and called out Power Khan.

"RAA! RAA! RAA! RAA! RAA! RAA! RAA!" Power Khan yelled as it pummeled Grover with a fury of punches and sent it flying into a tree.

The foliage wrapping her and her allies started to weaken and die.

"RAHHHH!" Grover bellowed and expired as black magic coursed through his bark.

The forest around them quickly dried up, and the great trees started to snap and collapse.

"We need to get out of here!" Lex yelled as he avoided the falling foliage.

"I have this!" Sarah dug herself out, "Furious Flame! Incinerate Them!"  
Furious Flame shot out of her and blasted a beam of fire in front of them, clearing a large area of forest and revealing the open plains ahead.

 **000000000**

The four escaped the forest and saw it collapse into itself before reducing to dust.

"It seems this tree did make a sound." Sarah joked.

Lian sighed and shifted her tiara side to side, "What a pain…"

"Come on, it was funny." Sarah looked for approval, but only got looks of doubt back.  
"Oh well… However, I wonder if that ent was with my sister."

"It doesn't appear so." Zhin answered, "It appears it was defending its home from what it considered intruders."

"Well that's too bad." Lian told them, "We could have let him go, but he decided to mess with us."

"To think that whole forest was his Stand… It's a miracle we even got out of there alive." Lex commented, "Thank you, Lian." He patted her shoulder.

"It's only natural." Lian smiled and looked at them, "I am a prodigy after all."

"Keep it humble, princess." Zhin chuckled, "Say, the trail continues." He said and pointed to the dirt road that led to a small town by a swamp.

"That should be where we should stop by next." Lian said, "Perhaps we can find a way back to the South."

"Maybe after taking a rest." Sarah said and leaned on a rock.

"I second that." Lex said and sat down on the grass, "I think those vines may have pulled something."

The four sat down under the stars.


	7. Devil Went Down to Margia

**Lian's Peculiar Adventure: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 6**

 **The Devil Went Down to Margia**

* * *

The four paladins made their way to the swamp town that the trail led to.  
It was a small town with few buildings, but the people there were very hesitant to interact with the newcomers.

"The Town of Margia." Zhin read the sign of the town, "Well, what a peculiar name."

"Perhaps we can find something to eat?" Sarah asked as she pointed to the inn, "I'm starving."

"When are you not?" Lian chuckled, "You're always eating, I wonder how you can maintain that figure."

"I burn the calories off." Sarah smirked.

Lian sighed and shifted her tiara side to side, "What a pain…" she shook her head.

The four walked up to the inn and entered inside.  
"We could use a rest, you know?" Lian said, "That sleep on the grass thing was not so enjoyable." She strained as she stretched her back.

"You are correct." Lex told her, "Sarah, do you mind if we take a nap?"

"Hmmm…" Sarah murmured, "Well, if it revitalizes us, that would be fine, but let's eat first." She said.

"I suppose I can retrieve the rooms." Zhin spoke, "I am not very hungry myself, so I can set up."

"Oh good." Lian nodded, "Go and do that."

Zhin sighed and walked to the counter, "How much would it be for two rooms?" he asked.

"500 coins." The receptionist responded.

Zhin looked into his pockets and pulled out a piece of string and a peanut.

"That will not do." The receptionist giggled as she placed her quill in the ink bottle.

"Here." Lex appeared and set down a bag of coins on the counter, "You go and get it ready." He patted Zhin on the back.

"Looks about right." The receptionist grabbed the bag of coins and then turned around to reach for the keys.  
"Who will this be for?"

"Mr… Pao-Pao." Zhin said.

00000000

Zhin walked to the rooms he was given the keys for and opened the first one.  
"I guess this will be the men's room." He looked around and saw that it was pretty simple looking. He closed the door and walked to the next room.

This room had a balcony that overlooked the swamp land beside the town. Zhin took a moment to walk around and admire the scenery.  
"Now that's a view… and a smell!" he chuckled and laid down on the bed, "This will definitely be the women's room." He took a whiff of the bog scented air that came in through the balcony.

The man put his boots up and sighed.  
He then called out Thousand Hands and made it cut a rectangle shape on the wooden floor, revealing an open area under it.  
"Come out now." He said.

Suddenly, a black hand came out from under the floor, and then a man with a wooden mask appeared.  
"You are wiser than you look." The man cackled as he dusted off his green robes.

"When I was walking around I was listening to my footsteps." Zhin told the stranger, "However, when I got to that part, my footsteps sounded louder, as if the floor below me was hollow. Of course I took a glance down and saw a split on the wooden panels, and what do you know…."

"Perceptive…" the stranger chuckled.

"Now who are you and what are you doing here?" Zhin said.

"I will reveal my secrets to a dead man." The stranger twitched his fingers, "I am Mal'Damba, and I have been contacted by Seris to rid of you with the promise of freeing Wekono and gaining dark magic beyond the reach of mortals!" he cackled.

Zhin sighed and sat up.  
"You're insane, you know that?" he stood up from the bed.

"More like… cursed." Mal'Damba shook his head.

"Now that I know you are with Seris, tell me the name of your fighting spirit." Zhin said.

"Haahahahahahaha… AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Mal'Damba yelled at the sky, "My stand was granted to me by my goddess Wekono, the mistress of sorrow and death!"

Zhin crossed his arms.

"And you'll be the first target!" Mal'Damba pointed at him with his trembling arm, "The first target for SERPENT SUPERSTITION!"  
A large mystical snake appeared above the man.

"If that's the case." Zhin murmured, "Thousand Hands!" he called out his stand, which proceeded to strike the user directly.  
"Why face against the spirit if the man is much weaker?"

Mal'Damba felt Thousand Hand's sword pierce his flank and his shoulder.

"Take this!" Zhin made Thousand Hands cut Mal'Damba's arm off.

"Yes! Yes!" Mal'Damba cried out in joy, "YES!" he fell back to the balcony and fell off.

"What the?" Zhin looked at the scene with confusion and ran to the balcony, "Where did he go!?" he looked down at the swamp and saw no one there.

"You are now cursed!" Serpent Superstition spoke and hovered above the bed.  
The stand then hovered over to a left-over frying pan and entered it.

"What the?" Zhin saw as the frying pan gained two purple serpentine eyes and glared at him.

"YOU ARE NOW CURSED, ZHIN!" the frying pan cackled and swooped down and smacked the man across the face.

"What!?" Zhin growled and held his aching cheek, "Why you- Take this!" he called out Thousand Hands and swiped at it.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" the pan dodged all its attack and came to strike Zhin on the nose.

"ACK!" Zhin growled and shook his head.

"TAKE THIS!" the pan flew straight into the mirror, causing shards to shoot out and cut Zhin's arm and face.

"What the hell!?" Zhin gnashed his teeth in pain and looked around to see the pan, but it was not there.  
"Where did you go you damn pot!" he looked around and saw the pan carry a thick book on itself.

"PERHAPS YOU CAN LEARN SOME MORE!" the pan yelled and swung itself, releasing the book from its grasp and sending it flying towards Zhin.

"Oh no you don't!" Zhin yelled, "COUNTER!" Thousand Hands appeared with a glowing blade.

The book hit the blade and was immediately sent back to the pan.

"HAH!" the pan smacked it back.

"HRRH!" Zhin countered it again, and the two engaged in a small tennis match with the book.  
"Take your stupid book back!"

"NO NO NO YOU!" the pan cackled and hit it back with greater force.

"Mister Pao Pao?" a waitress came in through the door, "Are you a-"

Zhin countered the book, but when it returned back to the pan, it lay flat and avoided the attack.  
"NO!" the man gasped in horror.

"AHHHH!" the waitress shrieked and was struck by the book at full force, her nose instantly broken and a couple of her teeth taken out. She, of course, was immediately knocked out after such a terrible blow.

"Why you!" Zhin yelled.

"OOPSIE DAISY!" the pan jeered and danced around in the air, "HEY! I DIDN'T DO THAT! YOU DID!"

"You damn piece of kitchenware… You're such a bother!" Zhin called out Thousand Hands to strike the pan, but it avoided confrontation all together by going back to close the door.  
"You coward!"

"OH AM I!?" the pan called back and rocketed towards a crystal powered bulb, shattering it. It picked up the hot contents into itself and launched them at Zhin's eyes.

"AHHHH!" Zhin yelled when he felt the stinging, burning pain blind him.  
"Damn pan! I'm going to kill you!"

"NOT IF I KILL YOU FIRST!" the pan appeared with a knives inside of it and then tossed them upwards. In multiple hits, the pan launched three knives, one that struck Zhin's right hand, the other that struck his left, and the last that struck his right foot.

"AGHHHHHH!" Zhin yelled in pain and saw that each part stabbed was pinned to something. His left hand, which was supporting itself on the wardrobe, was pinned to it. His right, which was in front of the wall, was pinned to that. His foot, well it was on the ground.  
"I can't… move!" he looked at his bleeding hands.

Thousand Hands saw this and tried to cut the knives, but was hit from behind by the pan.

"Ack!" Zhin felt the pain from the blow on his head, "DIE!"

Thousand Hands faced its foe once more, but the pan avoided it and struck a cabinet that was above Zhin, making it keel over and fall on top of the man.

"What!?" Zhin yelled as he felt the weight of the cabinet on his shoulders and back, and it made him bow his head to the point where he was only looking at the floor.  
"Where are you?!" Zhin made Thousand Hands cut around in an attempt to hit the pan.

"YOU SUCK!" the pan suddenly swooped down and appeared in front of Zhin, "Hey Zhin, how about if I hit YOUR MANHOOD!" it cackled, "CAN'T GET WITH THAT SMOKING HOT WHITE-HAIRED WENCH IF I DO!"

The pan swung on its side and struck Zhin between the legs.

Zhin's eyes widened in pain.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA! WOAH!" the pan avoided a stab from Thousand Hands, "TOO SLOW!" it beat down on the cabinet, further bending Zhin's spine.  
"CURSED CURSED CURSED WITH BLINDNESS!" the pan struck Thousand Hands on the head and chest, then flew over to the bathroom.

"Where did that cursed pan go!?" Zhin looked around, "I should remove this knife from my foot now that I have the chance…" he said and did so with Thousand Hands.

"NOT SO FAST!" the pan came back and smacked Thousand Hands across the face, "OH LOOK WHAT I HAVE FOR YOU!" he said and splashed boiling hot water on Zhin's face.

"You wretch!" Zhin shook his head, but then received more boiling water, "Ahhhh." He snarled.

"HOW ABOUT A LITTLE BATH!?" the pan cackled and continued its actions, "YOU CURSED LITTLE MUTT!" The pan flew out of the room.

Zhin panted and looked at himself, then removed the last two knives and finally the cabinet from his back.  
"Once that pan comes back, I'm going to cut it to bits!" he said and looked at the open door.

The pan returned, but this time glowing red hot.  
"HERE IT COMES!" the pan shrieked and struck Zhin on the chest.

"AHHHHHHH!" Zhin yelled as he felt the hot iron on his chest, "Get away from me!" he called down Thousand Hands to strike it.

"NO NO NO!" the pan avoided it and hit Thousand Hands on the shoulder, "IF I HEAT YOU UP ENOUGH, YOU CAN WARM UP TO CATCH ME!" it kept hitting Thousands Hands with scalding fury.

Thousand Hands kept receiving blow after blow to itself.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? ARE YOU NOT GOING TO FIGHT BACK!? DID YOU GIVE UP TO YOUR CURSE?!" the pan taunted

Zhin smirked.  
"Did you know that after being exposed to heat… Metal becomes soft?"

"JUST LIKE YOUR MANHOOD WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH IT!" the pan taunted.

Suddenly, after much exposure to heat and constant pounding, the pan started deforming.

"Wait for your enemy to falter even if you have to suffer long!" Zhin yelled and Thousand Hands charged with its sword.

"WHAT?!" the pan saw the stand's new burst of energy and tried to get away, but the fact that it was all folded made it less aerodynamically fast.

"Take this!" Zhin yelled as Thousand Hand's sword pierced through the pan.

"AGHH!" the pan shrieked.

"Dinner time's over, scrap heap!"  
Thousand Hands swung its blade and cut the pan to pieces, forcing the serpent shaped stand to come out of it.  
"I have you now!" Zhin said and made his stand stab Serpent Superstition in its underbelly.

"HWAK!" the stand cried out.

"Now since you said you were with Seris… Tell me, something…. Has she hired a duo from the lands of the East?" Zhin glared at the stand.

"I-I-I WILL SAY NOTHING!" Serpent Superstition responded and hissed at him.

"Hmm… I figured…" Zhin grunted, "Well… since you have caused me much harm, and I will probably not see some bathhouse girls for a few months thanks to you…. I think it is only fitting that this is your end! ZZZYAAAHH!"

Thousand Hands retracted its sword and cut Serpent Superstition to bits.

000000000

"There's where I heard that damn gator!" a man and his fried rode down the swamp on their paddle boat.  
"Look!" he pointed his shotgun to a rustling in the shrub.

"GO GIT HIM!" his friend said.

"AUUUUGHHHHHH!" Mal'Damba suddenly shot out from behind the bushes and shrieked as his body fell pieces.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" the two hunters yelled and started to paddle out of there.

 **000000000**

Zhin lumbered down the stairs and saw that his allies were still eating their lunch.

"Zhin, you look like a mess." Lian saw her ally walking towards them, "Did you get into fight with a stand user or something? Hahahahaha." she chuckled.

Sarah giggled.

Lex smiled and huffed out some air.

Zhin gave out a long sigh.

"Come, join us, you must be tired from your…. Cleaning the bedroom ordeal." Lex said, "Here, we had some left-over sandwiches if you want some."

"Yeah, don't want to waste your energy fixing pillows later on." Lian laughed and banged on the table.

Zhin sat down, said nothing, and ate his sandwiched while his allies laughed.


	8. The Archer and the Mirror Man

**Lian's Peculiar Adventure: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 8**

 **The Archer and the Mirror Man**

* * *

A young man jumped off a tiger and landed near the ruins of an abandoned aqueduct.  
The woman sitting behind him gasped and clapped when she saw he landed safely on a rock.  
"And for my next trick." He walked up to the young woman and kissed her cheek, "I will make you disappear!" he said and slapped the tiger in the rear.

"RAR!" the tiger yelled and ran off with the woman still on board.

"Love you, dear!" the young man chuckled and brushed back his black hair.  
He was an eastern man with a red bandanna on his head and a red scarf surrounding his neck. He wore a beige sleeveless tunic with embroidered edges and dark red harem pants that complemented his dusty boots.  
"Haha…" he chuckled, "I sure needed to get away from her. I think she was part of the Magistrate or something."

A soft giggle sounded from behind a stone.

"Well well… Look who I see again." The man saw an elf woman come out from behind an aqueduct pillar.

She was wearing a teal clothing wraps and a face veil. She had her dark brown hair tied back in a ponytail and decorated with a silver head ornament.

"If it isn't my darling." The man said, "It isn't nice of you to spy on the competition… especially since you're number 1." He chuckled.

"What ever you say, Sha Lin." The elf chuckled and hovered over to him.

"I mean it." Sha Lin responded, "No girl can beat you, Ying. Regardless, I heard you wanted to talk to me? About a deal?"

"I heard that there is a group of people working for the Magistrate coming to this town." Ying said, "A woman in purple robes told me over dinner during the night. She said she would pay us if we retrieved them."

"Hmmm… And how important are these people?" Sha Lin asked.

"Very important. I heard there's an enforcer and a princess among them." Ying answered, "If we capture them, it will help the resistance against the Magistrate grow! I've been waiting for Valeria to arrive, but from what the woman told me, they will be here any day now."

"I guess I can help." Sha Lin shrugged his shoulders, "It wouldn't be hard considering our powers. We were always very well off together. I'll send a letter to Valeria."

"I hope she gets here soon." Ying mumbled, "You brought water?" she asked.

Sha Lin looked at the glass bottle hanging from his belt, "Ah yes, some for you, dear." He grinned and handed it to her.

Ying nodded and took a drink, then set down the bottle on a nearby stone.

However, this movement over the rock brought out a large sand lizard from under it.

"AH!" Ying yelled as the lizard ran towards her.

Sha Lin smirked.  
He extended his arms and a longbow appeared in them, complete with arrow. He fired that arrow and it sailed through the sky and pierced the lizard at the neck, decapitating it.

From the bottle, a metallic Ying appeared and threw blossoms that cut it to bits.

"Yep. We make a fine team." Sha Lin chuckled as he saw the lizard head fall in pieces, "Hopefully they don't end up like him." He put his arm over Ying's shoulders, and they started walking.

00000000

Lian, Sarah, Lex, and Zhin were now riding a wagon down a desert country making their way to a town ahead of them.

"Man, it sure is hot." Sarah panted as she covered her face from the sun.

"You have a stand that makes burning flames, how can you be susceptible to the heat?" Zhin asked.

Sarah stood silent, unable to respond to that.

"We're about to enter the town." Lex informed as their wagon started to slow down to a halt as the passed the town arch.  
"Looks a bit big."

"Looks like a sand heap to me." Lian sighed and placed her chin on her hand, "Perhaps we can fill up on water?" she asked and shook her canteen.

"Sounds like a wise idea." Lex responded as he stopped the wagon in front of the local inn.  
"Alright, let's restock on supplies." He said and jumped off, then walked to the back and grabbed a bag.

"Hopefully we don't stay here long." Lian said as she dug her heels into the sand, "I hate sand… It's coarse and rough, and it gets everywhere…"

Sarah stepped down, "I wouldn't want to mess up my clothes either." She told Lian, "Especially if they were as fancy as yours."

Zhin walked up to them, "Mind helping us out?" he said and looked at the items still on the wagon.

"Oh, right." Sarah said and helped him pick up a box.

Lex stood inside talking to the man at the counter, asking him if they could refill on their water. "Do you also have food for travels?" he asked him.

The man pointed across the street, "The general store is where you'd like to go for that, sir." He informed him.

Lex turned to face his allies.  
"We can refill our water here, but our food will have to be bought from the general store." He told them.

"I can go and purchase something." Zhin told him, but was startled by something he saw out the window.  
"Hold on…" he stared, then saw a man with a red bandanna and ran out.

"Zhin!" Lex yelled and followed after him.

Zhin burst out of the inn and ran to his right, then turned down the street where he saw the man.  
"Could it be him!?" he growled as he turned another street.

Lex turned the street.  
"I lost him!" he grumbled and looked at Lian and Sarah, "I don't know where he went! We need to look for him!"

"It's best if we split up!" Sarah informed, "It'll be easier to find him!"

The three spread out and ran off in different direction.

Zhin, however, followed where he believed the man in the red bandanna went. He scoured many streets, pushed over many people, and stepped on many cats until he finally tired.  
"Ha… Ha…" he wiped the sweat off his brow as he leaned on a light pole, "Agh!" he removed his arm from it as the metal pole was very hot.

"Excuse me, sir." A young boy walked up to Zhin with a silver disk of water, "Would you like to cool off for 2 coins?"

Zhin looked at the boy and shook his head.  
"Sure, kid." He said and pulled out two coins from his pocket, and handed them to the boy, then picked up the platter.

"I have a station over here." The boy said and pointed to a makeshift table made of old wooden planks and rusted screws.

"You are quite determined." Zhin said, "It reminds me of when I was lad." He said and looked at his reflection in the cool water.  
"Do you have parents?"

"Yes sir, they work in the mines." The boy responded, "They don't get paid very much so that's why I am here."

"I didn't have a father." Zhin spoke and looked at the boy, "He left my mother before I was born. My mother… however, loved me with all her heart and all her soul, until one day…. She died in an accident… or that is what the enforcers said."

000000

A young Zhin walked inside his home and found his mother leaning over her desk with a broken window to her side.  
"Mother, are you alright?" he asked as he received no greeting from her, "Mother?" he ran to her side.

An arrow was stuck to her head.

"Mother!" Zhin screamed in horror and looked outside the broken window.

There stood two children, an elf girl and a boy in a red bandana, surrounded by Enforcers from the Outer Tribunal.

000000

"Never give up, boy." Zhin told the young beggar and placed the water on his hands.

"Yes sir!" the boy saluted, "Would you like a mirror?" he said and pulled out a cracked and dusty mirror from behind the table.

Zhin nodded and the young boy placed it in front of him.  
Zhin poured water on his face and felt the cool relief surge through his head, then splashed some on his sweaty hair and felt it cool his scalp.  
However, his eyes widened when he saw an elf woman standing behind him in the mirror, a woman who looked exactly like the elf girl from the 'accident'.

Zhin turned around to see no one there, but then turned back to the mirror to see the elf woman still looking at him, as if trying to comprehend who he was.  
The man turned back to the street and saw that there was no one there.

"How are you doing this?!" he shook the mirror and threw it on the ground, "Where are you!?" he yelled to the street.

"Hey!" the young boy gasped as he saw his mirror was shattered.

Zhin came back to his senses and saw what he had done.  
"Apologies." He reached in his pocked and pulled out ten coins, "Here, buy yourself something nice." He placed them in the boy's hands. However, he knelt next to him.  
"By the way, have you seen a man in a red bandanna come around here? He's eastern in appearance… Black hair like mine."

The boy pondered.  
"I think I saw someone like that walk to the town square." He said.

Zhin nodded and stood up straight, "Good." He said and ran off to the town square, which was two blocks away. He felt his anger rising every step he took, but it only took one black to cement his rage for good.

For standing there, by a fountain, was the man in the red bandanna.

Zhin felt his anger boil up as he walked towards him.  
"SHA LIN!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, catching the attention of everyone on the street.

The man in the red bandanna stopped flirting with the woman he was with and looked at the person.  
"Huh? Who are you?" he asked Zhin.

"You should know me, dog!" Zhin said, "You killed my mother!"

Sha Lin stopped and observed the man, then looked at the reflections in the fountain behind him.  
"Are you sure?" he asked the water lowly, "Are you sure that is him?"

"What's going on, dear?" the woman he was with asked Sha Lin.

"Nothing, I think you should leave." Sha Lin told her and pushed her away, "Well… Hello, Zhin." He said as he walked towards him, "It's been a while for sure."

"Yes it has." Zhin growled and stood in place around 20 meters away from Sha Lin, "Yes it has."

"How is an old friend doing?" Sha Lin asked very nonchalantly, "Last time I saw you, I-"

"You killed my mother." Zhin interrupted him, "You shot her with a bow and slew her before my eyes!"

Sha Lin chuckled nervously, "It was an accident, Zhin. It really was, I wasn't aiming for her… I was… just playing around!"

Zhin snarled.  
"Enough! I am here to avenge my mother! You will see her in heaven while you burn in hell!" he pointed at him.

"Stand back, Zhin! I am not here for you!" Sha Lin said, "I am here for a princess, and enforcer, and a young woman. Have you seen them?"

"Yes, they are my allies!" Zhin responded.

"Well… that settles it." Sha Lin shrugged his shoulders, "She did say there was a fourth person to bring in, so I'm figuring that's you." he said, "Now it's time I do that!"  
Sha Lin extended his arms and called out his bow, then fired the arrow.

"You fool!" Zhin yelled and called out Thousand Hands, "Your arrows are not faster than my blade!"  
Thousand Hands sprung out and led with its sword, then raised it up as the arrow came to meet it.

However, right when the arrow was about to hit the blade, it changed trajectory.

"What!?" Zhin gasped as the arrow avoided his stand entirely and headed straight for his head.

"Looks like you're the fool." Sha Lin murmured, "My fighting spirit is my bow! I can control any part of it, even the arrows."

Zhin's eyes opened as the arrow got nearer.

"ZHIN!" a voice yelled, and Lex tackled the man down before the arrow struck him.

"What?" Sha Lin stepped back as his arrow drifted off to the sky.

"Are you alright?" Lex asked Zhin as he picked him up, "We were worried about you!"

"Do not interrupt my combat!" Zhin yelled and glared at Sha Lin, who was wide open.

"We are a team, Zhin!" Lex yelled, "We stick together!"

"My vengeance is just that! Mine!" Zhin argued, "I don't need your help!"

"We stick together! Divided we fall!" Lex responded and then saw the arrow return back towards them, "Watch out!" he pushed Zhin away and looked at the arrow.  
"I'll shoot it out of the sky!"

The Law appeared from behind Lex and aimed its cannon arm.

Zhin stepped back and looked at Sha Lin, "Why you…" he pointed at him.

Lex focused on the arrow, "Ready…."

The Law intensified its aim.

"FI-"

From the reflection inside the jade stones on Zhin's clothing appeared a metallic Ying and a blasted Lex's back with sharp blossom petals.

"HNGH!" Lex groaned and lost focus on the arrow, which caused it to come down and hit him square on the chest.

Zhin looked back and saw Lex fall to the ground with blood spewing out of his chest.  
"L-Lex!?" he called out.

"Ha… Ha…." Lex panted as he saw the arrow sticking out of his chest, "Argh…" he groaned and slowly stood up.

"You're alright!" Zhin exclaimed and ran to pick him up, only to receive a punch to his stomach.

"I told you we were a team…" Lex growled as he had The Law pull out the arrow from his chest, "This is what happens when we don't stick together."

Zhin looked at the wounded enforcer, then back at Sha Lin, who had loaded another arrow.

"It seems I can take two birds with one stone!" Sha Lin chuckled.

"We need to get out of here!" Lex grumbled, "There's a stand user here… I saw it…"

"What do you mean, he's standing right there!" Zhin said and pointed at Sha Lin.

"Where is his stand?" Lex asked.

"The bow is his stand." Zhin responded.

"The bow?" Lex asked, quite confused.

"Yes, the bow." Zhin repeated himself.

"Are you sure about that?" Lex shook his head, "It can't be the bow!"

"It is the bow!" Sha Lin told the two, "The bow is my stand."

"But just the bow." Lex looked at his enemy.

"Yes, just the bow." Sha Lin nodded, "The bow and the arrow that are in my hand are my Stand."

"No." Lex scoffed.

"Yes." Both Zhin and Sha Lin responded.

"Really?"

"Uh huh." The two added.

Lex looked confused and rubbed his temples.  
"What is this stand called?"

"The Bow." Sha Lin responded.

"Yes, the bow." Lex told him.

"No, that wasn't asking you for clarification." Sha Lin said, "That's the name. THE BOW."

Lex sighed.  
"I've seen many things in this world." He mumbled, "But I digress, it wasn't the bow I was talking about, it was a woman in the reflection. That was the stand I was talking about, it stabbed me in the back!"

Zhin looked at him.  
"What are you talking about?" he asked, "What woman?"

"It was a metal woman, looked like an elf!" Lex said, then pointed at a nearby window, "Look!"

Surely enough, from the window, the metallic Ying was observing.

"It's her!" Zhin said, "Shoot it!"

Lex nodded and blasted the window with his The Law.

"Oh no you don't!" Sha Lin launched his arrow, but it was blocked by Zhin.

"Huh!?" Zhin saw the metallic Ying on another window, "Hey Lex, look!" he pointed.

"I thought I destroyed her!" Lex looked and shot that window, but then saw the Ying in another window, "She's in every reflection!"

"Ying!" Sha Lin grabbed a nearby glass bottle and threw it up into the air then hit it with an arrow.

Lex saw the Metallic Ying appear in the glass shards and aim her pellets and him.  
"AGH!" he blocked the pellets with his arms, but they still cut through his clothes and skin.

"Lex!" Zhin turned and saw the metallic Ying in the reflection of another shard facing him.  
"HRAH!" he made Thousand Hands destroy that shard, but it only made her appear on another, "HWAK!" he was cut by what to him was an invisible force.

"It seems what happens in that mirror world…. Occurs in real life." Lex growled, "And there's nothing we can do about it… We must retreat!"

"What? But I have him!" Zhin pointed at Sha Lin.

"He's surrounded by an invincible stand that will keep cutting us until we are mincemeat." Lex informed, "We need to get out of here."

Zhin grumbled and the two ran off.

"Hey!" Sha Lin aimed his arrow and fired, but he struck a wagon that had unexpectedly intercepted the arrow's travel path.  
"Hrrr…" he followed behind.

Lex and Zhin continued on and passed the town square where they were blocked off by a group of people watching something.

"What is going on here?" Zhin asked as he pushed through people.

"It seems to be some sort of event?" Lex responded, then they broke through.

There, at the end of the crowd, stood the elf woman they had seen in the reflections dancing.

"Hey!" Zhin pointed at her.

The elf woman stopped dancing and gasped, "It's you!"

"Ying!" Zhin said, "That's what Sha Lin said! That's your name! And you must be the user of that mirror stand we saw!"

Ying stammered, grabbed the coins, the people had donated to her and threw them on the ground.

The people, interested in a quick buck, ran to pick up the money, creating a barrier between the two and her.

"Why that-" Zhin saw the metallic Ying reflection on the eyes of one of the people around him, the was cut by the blossom petals in the reflection.

"What!?" Lex was also cut, "How are we going to defeat this stand!?"

"You can't!" Ying said from the top of a fish statue, "My Stand is REFLECTIVE REFLECTIVE." She told them, "it lives in mirrors and thus cannot be touched!"

Zhin growled as he looked Reflective Reflective appear in a woman's eyes and was cut by its petals.

"We cannot harm these innocent civilians!" Lex grumbled as he looked for a way to defeat this stand, "I don't know how this stand works, but there must be a way to stop it!"

Zhin focused and saw a streak of light from the corner of his eyes.  
"What was that?" he said.

Lex looked at him, "What are you talking about?" he asked.

Zhin saw Reflective Reflective in his eyes, "Don't look at me!" he pushed Lex's head away.

"What?!"

"The Stand was in your eyes!" Zhin responded and shook his head, "What is this stand able to do?" he looked around, then saw the streak of light once more.

Reflective Reflective appeared in another set of eyes and looked straight at Zhin.

"Hrah!" Zhin yelled at the woman, who flinched in fear.

The streak of light shot out and landed in another set of eyes.

"That light!" Zhin exclaimed.

"What light!?" Lex asked, but growled in pain when he was cut again.

"That one!" Zhin saw the beam come out of an old woman's pendant.  
"Thousand Hands!" he called out his stand, which led with its sword and tried to cut the light beam.

"HA!" Ying gasped as a cut appeared on her thigh.

"I missed!" Zhin saw the light beam enter a man's eye, "But it seems Reflective Reflective can only travel in that light beam… And from the looks of our elven friend, it seems that's when it is vulnerable."

"If only these people could stop picking up money!" Lex growled as the people did not leave.

"We need to get that stand to go somewhere I know I can predict!" Zhin said.

"I think I understand." Lex said and pulled out a large diamond, "I may have stolen this from the princess. Well, not stolen, as that is a crime, she told me to hold on to it."

"I think she likes you." Zhin chuckled.

"Nice jest." Lex smirked made the diamond glisten in the light.

The people around them were mesmerized by it.

"Now I just need to find that stand." Zhin looked around, but could not find anything on the people around him.  
"What the hell!?" he growled.

"Have you seen it!?" Lex grunted as the stand kept cutting his body with petals, "I don't think I can keep this up.

"I can't-" Zhin looked down and saw a dog, and on its shiny collar tag was Reflective Reflective.  
"Bingo!" Zhin turned away and stepped on the dog's leg, causing it to yelp and turn away.

"Let's give you distance!" Lex threw the diamond up in the air.

The light beam shot out from the dog's collar and towards the diamond.

"THOUSAND HANDS! Remove armor!" Zhin yelled, and his stand came out with its golden armor gone and charged.  
"HRAHHHH!" the stand cut clear through the beam of light.

"AHHHH!" Ying shrieked a couple of blocks away.

"That must be it." Zhin and Lex quickly got out of the mob as they scurried to find the diamond.

The two dusted off their clothes only to encounter Sha Lin aiming their bow at them.

"Well well! I couldn't get a good shot because you two were in a crowd." Sha Lin informed, "But now that you're out, I can bring you to Valeria. Isn't that right, dear Ying?" he asked a glass bottle that was by a trash can.

Silence.

"Ying! Cut them up with your petals." Sha Lin repeated, "Do you need another angle?" he asked and shot a nearby window.

Nothing.

"Ying! Ying!"

"Ying is out of commission." Lex told the archer, "She won't be helping you anymore."

"I took her out for her crime. I know she helped you kill my mother." Zhin responded, "I cut clean through her stand Reflective Reflective."

Sha Lin stood silent.  
"Well, I didn't like her that much anyways." He shrugged his shoulders and bolted off.

"Hey!" Lex took out The Law and aimed its cannon.

"Thanks for the diamond by the way!" Sha Lin chuckled and turned the corner, "Stupid sons of b- OOF!" he grunted when he bumped into someone.  
"Hey watch it- Woah woah woah…" he saw the beautiful woman in front of him.

White hair….  
Flowing red dress….  
Hair pin….

It was Lian.  
"Excuse me, commoner, I hav-" she saw the diamond in his hand, "Hey! That's my heirloom!"

"Stop right there!" Lex and Zhin stepped in.

"Well, what a coincidence." Lex spoke when he saw Lian and Sarah standing there.

"This man is an enemy stand user." Zhin informed them, "And the man who killed my mother!"

"I said it was an accident!" Sha Lin shook his head and started shuffling back, "Look… There's no hard feelings, right? I didn't mean to hit you with that arrow, law buddy!" he looked nervously at Lex.  
"We're all good friends… Here!" he handed the diamond back to Lian, "Nice legs by the way."

Lian grunted.

"Let me finish him off." Zhin made Thousand Hands appear.

"No, come on!" Sha Lin shrieked and a noticeable wet spot appeared on the front of his pants.

"Ugh…" Sarah looked away.

"Pitiful." Lex grunted.

"You will die!" Zhin yelled, but right when Thousand Hands was about to strike, a group of children ran past him and made him fall.

"What the?!" Lian growled when the children stopped in front of them.

"Sorry mister!" a young girl said as she passed the ball to an ork child.

"Don't stand around, you big losers!" a pink fairy girl told them and blew her tongue before bumping into Sarah and flying off.

Zhin stood up, "Don't let him escape!"

"Too late for that." Sarah grumbled as Sha Lin had gotten on a horse and dashed down the street.

Zhin shook his fist, "I'll get you, Sha Lin!"

Lian sighed and shifted her crown side to side, "What a pain…" she said and placed her diamond in her pocket.  
"Thanks for taking care of it, Lex." She patted his shoulder, "You're a real trooper."

"No problem." Lex nodded and they started to walk away, but Zhin pulled Lex into an alley away for a moment.

"We'll be right back." Zhin told the two women and the two went into the alley.  
"So, when are you and the princess gonna be a thing?" he asked her.

"It is not like that." Lex shook his head, then noticed some blood running out from behind a box.  
"What is that?" he pointed and walked towards it.

"Hmm- Oh…." Zhin looked behind the box with Lex, "Well… That's were that elf girl went."

Lex looked away, "We should get someone to look over this."

"No, we don't." Zhin shook his head.

"The Law demands-"

"Get that stick out of your ass and let's go." Zhin said, and the two walked out to meet up with their female allies.


	9. The Pollen Princess

**Lian's Peculiar Adventure: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 9**

 **The Pollen Princess**

* * *

The Paladins arrived at the inn they had originally arrived in and stood on the porch, waiting a few moments before entering to inspect themselves.

"So you're telling me there was a stand that was just a bow?" Lian asked Lex as he wrapped some bandages around his forearms.

"Yes, and that was the name of the stand. The Bow." Lex added.

"The Bow?" Sarah pondered and placed her fingers on her chin, "What an original name…"

"Apparently he was partnered up with another stand user who had the power to travel through mirrors." Lex continued, "Do you have some water? I am quite parched." He asked Lian.

Lian nodded and pulled out her canteen.

"To think that scum ran away before I could cut him to bits…" Zhin grumbled and crossed his arms, "I would have done so too if it wasn't for those meddling kids…"

"Relax, Zhin." Lian shook her head, "You made him wet his pants as he scurried off with his tail between his legs, that should be enough for now."

Zhin grunted, then chuckled.  
"I must admit that was a bit hilarious… I guess I'll kill him last…"

"We must rest." Lex said, "To recuperate from our wounds."

"I suppose that is a smart thing to do. Lian, would you help them get a room? I could get the food while you do." Sarah told her.

"I suppose." Lian shrugged.

"Alright, I'll see what we can get." Sarah nodded and walked across the street to the general store. She avoided some horsemen coming in, and then walked around a wagon to reach her destination.  
She entered the general store and walked to the counter.  
"Excuse me sir, do you sell food in bulk?" she asked the man.

"Absolutely." The cashier responded, "Heading out on a trip, young lady?" he asked her.

"Hehehe." Sarah giggled at the thought of being called a young lady, "But yes, we are heading south."

"Pioneers I see." The cashier commented as he walked to some large crates, "Well, the Magistrate does pay well to settle those lands. What would you like to take?"

Sarah looked at the foods inside the crates and mostly saw bread, fruits, and vegetable.  
"Do you have any meats?"

"For your long journey? Sure, we have some jerky out this season." The cashier walked to a window, where some dried meat was hanging in the sun.

Sarah's mouth watered when she saw the delicious meat.  
"I'll take all of it!" she said and pulled out a bag of coins.

"Absolutely." The cashier nodded and reached for the bag of coins, but then noticed something on her arm.  
"Young lady, have you seen that?" he pointed to her forearm.

"Hmmm?" Sarah looked at her arm.  
There was a gash across it that was forming a large boil over her skin.  
"What!?" she gasped and looked at it.

"It looks like leprosy…" the cashier murmured and stepped back, "Young lady, you need to get that looked at." He went back behind the counter, "May I ask you to not touch anything as you leave?" he stammered.

Sarah mumbled as she looked at her boil.  
"Alright…" she started walking towards the door.

"The doctor is next door to the constabulary right down the main road." The cashier pointed outside his window.

Sarah nodded and stepped outside.  
"What could this be? How did I not notice it? How did we not notice it?" she looked at the inn and wondered how this passed by Lian, Lex, and Zhin.  
She started to walk to the doctor's building, trying her hardest to hide the boil under her left hand as she walked past people.

The woman once again avoided horses, wagons, and people as she crossed the street.

"Alm- ouch!" she felt a stinging pain in her left hand and retracted it, "What was that?" she saw a small stream of blood dripping down from a nip on her skin.  
She looked at it but continued walking towards the doctor's building, finally entering it when she passed the constabulary.

The nurse on the desk looked up to see the woman.  
"How can I help you, miss?" she asked.

"I would like to see the doctor for this boil." Sarah told her and showed her arm.

The nurse gasped.  
"Right away!" she said and ran to the back of the building.

Sarah looked at the boil and saw that appeared to be bubbling under her skin.  
"What the… what is this disease? Could the Pyre cure it?" she was about to use her pyre but was interrupted when the doctor came in.

"Miss, I heard what is happening to you." The old man walked up to Sarah, "Oh yes… that looks very concerning." He looked at the boil from a distance before grabbing her arm and inspecting it closely.

"What do you think it is, Doctor?" the nurse asked as she stood behind him.

"It doesn't appear to be leprosy." The doctor rubbed his gray beard, "What have you been doing the past few days, miss?" he asked Sarah.

"I came in to town, I've been traveling." Sarah responded.

"Where was the last place you visited?"

"The town of Margia." Sarah answered.

The doctor pondered.  
"You must have gotten bitten by one of the swamp insects there." He deduced, "But… I've never seen anything devolve to this caliber." He poked it with his gloved hands.

A mouth suddenly appeared from the boil and bit the tip of his pointer finger off.

"AGH!" the doctor yelled in pain.

"What the!?" Sarah gasped as the doctor's blood dripped down her skin and his finger disappeared into the small mouth.

"Ugah…." A face appeared on the boil.  
"More… More…." It said.

Sarah's arm suddenly jerked and landed on the nurse's belly.

"NAM!" the face on the boil bit into her body.

"AHHH!" the nurse shrieked.

"What is going on!?" Sarah cried out and brought back her arm.

The boil had now formed into a flowery looking head and continued munching the skin it had gotten from the nurse.  
"Tasty." It said and looked at Sarah, "Oh hello there, mommy!" it giggled, "Thanks for giving a spore like me a body to grow on!"

"It can talk!?" Sarah looked at the doctor.

"Who is saying that?" the doctor murmured as he looked around, "What bit me!? Was it that?!" he pointed to the boil.

"It was this!" Sara pointed to it as well, "This creature is growing on me?"

"What are you talking about?!" the nurse asked.

"Do you not see the face?" Sarah asked them.

"Silly mommy!" the head giggled, "They can't see you! Hahahahaha! Don't you know that?"

Sarah gulped.  
"Could it be that this little boil is-"

"A stand!" the head responded.

"What is that?" the doctor got nearer to what he saw was just a large boil, "Is that where the sound is coming from?"

"Get back!" Sarah saw that the old man was getting too close, but it was too late.

The stand caused Sarah's arm to jerk and then caught itself on the doctor's nose, which it then bit off and ate whole.

"DOCTOR!" the nurse shrieked as the old man fell back with a stream of blood following him.

"Nam! Nam! Nam!" the stand finished chewing and grew a torso, "Can you feed me more, mommy?" it asked.

Sarah fought against the pulling force the stand was making against her arm.  
"Stand back!" she told the nurse, who stood there in fear.

"No you don't!" the stand bit off Sarah's bracelet and jerked its head to send it straight into the nurse's left eye.

"AH!" the nurse shrieked and stumbled forward.

"I got you!" the stand jerked Sarah's arm again and bit off the nurse's ear, then grew small stubs for arms.

"Stop this!" Sarah growled, "If you're a stand, I will end you with mine! Furious Flame!" she yelled and called out the angelic stand.  
"Burn her!"

"And burn your whole arm off, mommy?" the stand taunted as it bobbed around.

Sarah grumbled because she knew it was right, and even with the healing power of the Pyre, she could not regrow her arm.

"Give me more food!" the stand jerked her arm again while she was deep in thought and came down on the base of the back of the nurse's neck, as she was cowering in fear and hurt.

"AGH!" the nurse screamed and died, as the stand had severed her spinal cord.

"Mmm… Tasty!" the stand ate the chunk of meat and grew arms and an upper body, "Ta-Da!" it laughed.

"What is your name!?" Sarah said and ran out of the doctor's building.

"I guess a daughter should tell her mommy her name." the stand smiled, "My Stand is POLLEN PRINCESS." The stand posed childishly.

Sarah grumbled and shook her head, "I'm going to one of my friends to get rid of you." She looked at the inn.

Pollen Princess grumbled and then saw two Enforcers standing outside the constabulary.  
"Oh no you don't!" it smirked, "Hey lunkheads!" it screamed.

The two Enforcers turned to the sound of the voice, only to see Sarah standing there.

"You good for nothing pigs are just stinking up the town!" Pollen Princess continue, "I wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of criminals came and smoked you all into bacon!"

The Enforcers growled.

"Run along, girl." One of them said as she pointed at her.

"You'll be running when I punch your face in." the stand continued.

"What? Stop!" Sarah shook her head and looked at her enforcers.

"You don't even look like you can get a man! No wonder you're a cop, you short haired dyk-"

"Why you!" the female enforcer yelled.

"We told you to stop, this is now harassment of a law official!" the male enforcer added and the two bolted towards her.

"OH NO!" Sarah yelled and ran away from them, "You good for nothing parasite!" she yelled at Pollen Princess.

"A mommy should always love her daughter!" the stand taunted as they turned down a dark alley.

"Dead end!" Sarah stopped when she as a large stone wall before them.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" the cries of the Enforcers in pursuit sounded behind her.

"Furious Flame!" Sarah called out her stand, and it picked her up and flew over the wall to another alleyway.

"Huh?" the two enforcers came up to the alley and saw no one there.  
"Where'd she go!?" the female enforcer growled.

On the other side, Sarah continued to allow her stand to fly her as she held on to its arms.

"Hmmm…" Pollen Princess saw that it was on the arm that was holding on to the stand, "Time to cut this ride short! HAMPH!" it bit into Furious Flame's right arm.

"AGH!" Sarah yelled as the bite mark appeared on her wrist, causing her grip to falter.  
"AHHH!" she fell and hit the ground hard.

"Oops! Silly me!" Pollen Princess taunted and grabbed hold of a nearby alley cat, then ate its front leg to grow bigger.

The cat shrieked and scurried off.

"Ha… Ha…" Sarah panted as she stood up, "Hrr… If you are a sickness or a parasite…" she looked at Pollen Princess, "Perhaps my Pyre will get rid of you!" she breathed in.

A pulse of fiery energy surged through her body and concentrated into her arm.  
However, when it reached Pollen Princess, it just passed through.

"What!?" Sarah gasped, "How!?"

"Mommy dearest… You should know daughters come from a part of their mommy!" Pollen Princess taunted.

Sarah stopped and remembered a bitter memory.  
"Of course… the Pyre would never harm a child… especially one within me…" she murmured and looked at her abdomen, then looked at the general direction of the inn.  
"How could I be so forgetful of that-"

"Hamph!" the enemy stand bit into her arm.

"Damnit!" Sarah cursed and started to run, "It seems that Pollen Princess is considered part of my body to my Pyre energy!" she growled, "I need to get to my friends so they can help me get rid of- HWAK!" she was punched in the chin.

"No you don't! HYAH!" Pollen Princess started to use its fists to punch its host, "You need to take care of your daughter!"

"Stop this!" Sarah blocked her attacks with her arm.  
"FURIOUS FLAME!"  
Her stand's arm appeared from her own and grabbed hold of Pollen Princess with its hand.  
"Pyre Bind!"

Small strings of fire appeared and wrapped around Pollen Princess.

"HMPH! NO!" Pollen Princess stabbed Sarah's arm with a shard of glass.

"Ahh!" Sarah shrieked, causing her stand to fall back, "Where- Where did you get that!?"

"When I had that encounter with the cat!" Pollen Princess told her, then used the shard of glass to cut her bicep.

Sarah winched in pain and shook her head.  
"I have to keep on going to the inn, no matter how painful it is- AH!" she yelped when Pollen Princess slashed her lip.

"I'm close enough to slit your throat, then Seris will save the Summer Court and help us defeat the humans!" Pollen Princess laughed.

"So you're with her, huh?" Sarah growled, "I knew she would be behind this!"

"I guess she trusted the right girl to finish off her sister." Pollen Princess giggled and slashed Sarah's tricep.  
"She told me all about you. How old you are. How many battles you fought. How experienced you were. Yet I see none of that! I think she was right in dismissing that when she told me."

Sarah snarled.  
"I knew my sister would discredit me so…" she ran down the road.

"Look at you, all those years alive and yet you learned nothing from either your sister or your little daughter, mommy!" Pollen Princess aimed its glass shard at her neck.  
"Now you die!"

"Hwak!" Sarah gasped as she felt the shard go through the hand she used to stop it.

"There's no use fighting! You will wither!" Pollen Princess pushed on her hand, trying to get the shard to her throat.

"It's so hard to push this back!" Sarah groaned.

"Now you'll die all old and withered… I wish I could look as young as you in my old age too!" Pollen Princess chuckled.

"Well, you'll never live to that!" Sarah yelled and jumped over a fence.

"Hey!" a couple of workers yelled as the woman appeared before them.

"You can't be here!" one of the workers put down his hammer and shook his fist.

"Where are you going!?" Pollen Princess laughed, "Do you want to do some hard work before you die? Is stopping this glass not enough for you!?"

Sarah grunted.  
"Is this enough for you!?" she suddenly pushed Pollen Princess back and dunked her arm in a puddle of mud that was on the ground next to some bricks.  
She saw the mud bubble, but then the glass shard shot out and hit her throat.

Pollen Princess popped out in this moment of weakness and grabbed the shard again, "This time I'll drive it straight through you!"

Sarah stammered as her free hand started to fail holding back the stand.

"You think you could have gotten rid of your daughter in that icky mud?" Pollen Princess asked, "How silly of you, mommy! Now you will retire once and for all!"

"Hmph…" Sarah smirked, "FURIOUS FLAME!"  
The angelic stand appeared.  
"Heat wave!"

"Burn your hand off, I don't care! I'm so close!" Pollen Princess' fairy eyes opened up.

Furious Flame shot out a wave of intense heat from the palm of its hand.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Pollen Princess laughed childishly, "Now you die-" it stopped.  
"What?!" it yelled when it could no longer move.

"You thought that was icky mud?" Sarah smiled as the stand strained to move.

"What did you do!?" Pollen Princess asked.

"That wasn't mud, little girl. It was clay." Sarah informed, "Did you not look around to where we were?" she said and pointed to the construction site around them.  
"They're making a building around here… and with that they need bricks… and with bricks they need clay. Do you know what happens to clay when it heats up?"

"Ah… Ah…" Pollen Princess stammered.

"It dries up and gets hard." Sarah told her, "And with that!" she made Furious Flame grab hold of it, "I can rip you out while you can't move!"

"And hurt yourself?!" Pollen Princess yelled.

"Nothing the cleansing Pyre can't heal." Sarah smiled as all the cuts Pollen Princess had made started to vanish in a glowing light.  
"Now you will face vengeance!" she said.  
Furious Flame ripped out Pollen Princess from Sarah's arm and threw it sky high.  
"INCINERATE!"  
Furious Flame raised its hands and blasted a beam of super-hot white fire from its hands.

0000000

Zhin stood outside the inn drinking some tea from a cool iced glass.  
"Hmmm?" he looked to his left and saw the children from before playing, "What the? It's those brats." He walked towards them and followed them to an alley.

"Willo! Willo! Jump higher!" the kids told a pink fairy as she used her wings to fly.

"No! No!" Willo cried out.

"Hey! You stupid brats!" Zhin shook his fist at them, and they all turned to face him.

"AHHHHHH!" Willo disintegrated into ashes before him.

Zhin's eyes widened in shock.  
"Uh…. Look at me!" he walked to them and kept their heads from looking back, "Come on, I got some tea for you!" he led them out of the alley, but not before looking at the pile of ashes that lay there one more time.  
"What was that about?" he murmured and walked away.

 **0000000000**

Sarah arrived at the inn to find her allies sitting at a table eating a meal.

"Took you long enough." Lian said as she swirled some wine in her glass, "What did you buy?"

"Two crates of bread, a crate of fruits of vegetables, and 10 bags of jerky." Sarah informed, "They're all on the wagon. We can leave whenever."

"Not yet." Lex told her, "Zhin has informed us of a possible stand user in the area. One that can disintegrate people in ashes."

Sarah rubbed the back of her head, "Eh… About that." She smiled cheekily and giggled.


	10. Death Race to the Finish

**Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 10**

 **Death Race to the Finish**

* * *

Lian spread her body over the wagon as it lumbered over a rocky mountain overpass.  
"It's so cold up here…. Does anyone have a blanket to let me use?" she sat up and looked to her allies.

Sarah pulled out a blanket from on of the crates.  
"I hope it doesn't snow up here…" she looked at the mountain peaks above them.

"I doubt it, we seem to be too low for snow." Zhin informed, "The mountains may appear tall, but they are nothing to the great mountain range of the Qian Long."

"Never took you for a weatherman." Lian told Zhin as she wrapped herself around with the blanket.

"It's not difficult to discern the times." Lex said from the front of the wagon, "One astute enough can master it with some time."

"I didn't doubt it." Lian smiled and looked at Sarah, who was eating an apple, "Say, how long until we reach Seris? The town, that is, or both."

"It should still be quite a distance, but I doubt my sister has enough power to call upon the Abyss yet." Sarah answered and threw the apple core away.

"We're almost out of bread." Zhin spoked as he looked in one of the crates, "We should restock supplies soon."

"At least we have water." Lian said and shook her canteen.

"Well, we're in luck." Lex said and pointed ahead, where a small diner was located next to a couple of cabins.  
"Perhaps they have food for wanderers like us."

"I wouldn't call us wanderers. We do have a mission." Sarah told him.

"Speaking of the mission, care to divulge more?" Lex asked, "I still have not quite understood the whole journey."

"My sister Hannah was taken over by the Abyss long ago." Sarah said, "With that power, she did some terrible actions against me and my friends…" she looked down, "But after time, the Abyss granted her the power to gain a Stand. I had never heard of a stand until the Pyre granted my own- Furious Flame- and then I saw that monstrosity. I knew that she would use that for evil, and I traveled the Realm looking for others with powers like my own to bring her down."

"What did the Abyss do to her?" Zhin asked.

"The Abyss granted her power beyond normal humans… However, it comes at a cost." Sarah informed, "The Abyss needs darkness to thrive, if it gets exposed to sunlight or the Pyre, it will be reduced to ashes. As such, if my sister is touched by the sunlight, she will surely perish."

"Do… Do you want that to happen?" Lian asked.

"Unfortunately, my sister is far too gone to be saved." Sarah looked up to the sky, "We must stop her, no matter if it kills her."

"Do you know anything about that stand she developed?" Lex told her.

"No… I had to flee to avoid its wrath." Sarah said, "I do not know the secret to Seris' Stand."

The three murmured amongst themselves.

"Regardless, we are almost at the diner-" Lex stopped when something zoomed past their wagon, nearly capsizing their vehicle.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Lian yelled as she used Power Khan to push the wagon back down.

"Hrrr." Zhin snarled and saw a dust trail lead to the diner ahead.  
"Whatever it was, it went to where we are heading to." He pointed at the cloud of dust rising up.

"I guess we should follow him. He was speeding." Lex said and urged his horses to go faster.

The four arrived at the diner and stepped down.

"Where is that- there it is." Lian pointed to the wagon that was previously surrounded by the dust cloud, "Who do you think owns that thing?" she murmured and clenched her fists.

"Hey you all!" Zhin pointed at the patrons eating outside, "Do you all know the driver of that wagon?"

The gruff men shook their heads and scoffed.

"I guess we'll have to beat it out of them." Lian stepped up and grabbed one of the men, then punched him across the face.

"Stop withholding information, criminal scum!" Lex kicked another in the shin and threw him at a wall.

"You tell us who is the driver right now!" Zhin kung-fu chopped a man on the shoulder.

Sarah stood back and watched the mayhem.  
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" she called out.

"Stop resisting!" Lex booted a man in the stomach.

"Everyone!" Sarah waved her hands.

Suddenly, a large roar sounded and the earth shook.  
A huge dust cloud picked up.

"What was that?" Lian stopped punching two men and turned to see that the wagon was no longer there."

"What? How could he get away from us?" Zhin asked, "We covered the front! You were watching, right?" he asked Sarah.

"I didn't see anyone!" Sarah shook her head.

"Well he's a danger to anyone on the road." Lex said and jumped on the wagon, "I may be on this journey to help you, but I am still a Lawman. Come, let us follow him!"

The three clambered on the wagon and Lex set course to follow the dirt trail that led up the mountain.

00000000000

"Hyah!" Lex urged his horses to travel faster as they followed the dust trail.

"We're going to get that good for nothing scum!" Lian sat next to him and pointed, "He almost knocked us off the mountain!"

"We're in pursuit of a wooden wagon." Lex picked up a nearby potato and placed it near his mouth, "Currently going 40 in a 20 mile per hour road. We're in pursuit in a code 9-0-4, subject is not stopping, requesting assistance."

Lian looked at him oddly.

"Oh…" Lex noticed he was just holding a potato.

Lian sighed and shifted her tiara side to side, "What a pain…"

"Was I wrong?" Lex asked her, "We are in pursuit of a criminal scum."

The wagon continued charging down the mountain path.

"What?" Lex saw as the dust clouds made by their assailant just vanished.  
"HRAH!" he pulled back on the reins, causing the horses to slow down and neigh.

The wagon came to a sudden halt.

"What was that for?" Zhin asked as he fixed himself up.

"What happened?" Sarah added.

"There's nothing more." Lex said as he saw that the tracks also ended a few meters away, ending at a circular imprint on the ground.

"Was it a ghost wagon?" Lian asked.

"Don't be preposterous." Lex said, "There's no such things as ghosts, especially ghosts of things that are not alive." He murmured and got off the carriage.  
The enforcer looked around and walked over to the end of the tracks.  
"What is this circular thing?" he inspected the imprint on the ground.

"Why would you think it's a ghost wagon?" Zhin smirked and patted Lian's back.

"I was giving him a reason to get off and inspect it." Lian responded, "If I didn't, then he would have told me to do so."

"You two are the worst." Sarah sighed and grabbed a banana.

"I'm a princess, I can't be dirtying my hands with mud and dirt." Lian showed off her red nails, "Plus, it is his job to investigate, no?"

"It doesn't appear you're very nice to him." Zhin chuckled.

"Why would I?" Lian laughed and looked up as she stretched out her arms, but then noticed something dark in the sky.  
"What is that?" she peered.

"What are you talking about?" Sarah looked up as well, "What is that dark spot?"

"Hmmm." Zhin joined it, "It appears to be a…"

"A shadow?" Lian brought out Power Khan, who looked for her, "Hey! Something's coming down from that cliff!"

Lex turned back, "Lian! Zhin! Sarah! Get out of there!" he yelled.

Sarah and Zhin bailed, but Lian's high heels made her trip from such quick actions.

Lex growled and ran to the wagon and pulled her out.

An object fell from the sky and smashed into the wagon with such force it broke off into planks and splinters.

The horses shrieked and ran off, nearly running over Sarah and Zhin as they stampeded down the trail.

"Lian! Lex!" Sarah called out into the dust cloud of the impact site.  
"Are you alright!?"

Out of the dust came Lex carrying Lian.

"That's the last time I save your hide." Lex grumbled.

"It's the first time." Lian crossed her arms and stood on her own.

"Did you forget the train and river?" Lex responded.

"Calm down, you two." Zhin said, "What was that?" he said and saw the dust clear.

"HEY HEY HEY!" a shrill voice called out, and a large bidepal robot made of wood and steel stood before them.  
"Looks like you all got out safe and sound!"

The four Paladins looked at the robot as it spread out its legs.

"But just like a fish, from the hook and into the frying pan!" the voice from inside the robot said, and a window opened up to reveal the face of a goblin.

"That disgusting creature can drive a robot?" Lian grunted as she pointed at it, "Who are you!?"

The goblin chuckled.  
"Since you all are about to die for my freedom, I guess I should be thankful enough to tell you. I am Ruckus, and this is my stand BLASTED BOLT."  
The mech suit extended both its arms.

"His stand is that machine?" Sarah asked.

"Hey, I've seen a stand that was a bow." Lex grumbled, "This is nothing strange."

"Seris promised me freedom for me and my people." Ruckus chuckled, "But only if I got rid of you!" he said and closed the window of the stand.  
"And that's what I intend to do! Time to Destroy my enemies!"

Blasted Bolt powered up lowered its legs, forming two rocket boosters with them.

"Uhh…. I don't think I like that." Zhin murmured as he heard the loud humming coming from the boosters.

"I think we need to run." Sarah said.

Blasted Bolt revved up.

"Oh yeah, we definitely need to run." Lian nodded, and the four bolted down the mountain trail.

"HEHEHEHEHEHE!" Ruckus laughed as he took off behind them.

"How can a stand be so fast!?" Lex asked as the stand easily caught up to them.

"If we stay on the trail, it'll run us over!" Sarah said, "We need to get out of here!"

"How? There's a crevice to our left and a sheer cliff to our right!" Lian said as she looked over to her sides.

"I'm going to run you all over!" Ruckus called out from inside his robot stand, "Here I go- Hey!" he yelled when the four slid down the crevice.  
"No you don't!" he said and launched steam from the grills on the side of his robot.

"Argh!" Lian grunted as something stabbed her in the shoulder, "AGH!" she tumbled down.

"Lian!" Zhin yelled as Lian hit the bottom right next to him.  
"Are you alright!?" he said and helped her up.

"What… Stabbed me!?" Lian grumbled as she saw a hole on the back of her shoulder, "I didn't even see anything!"

"No time to talk!" Lex said and pointed at Blasted Bolt, who had returned to its bipedal form and jumped down to follow them.

"You can't get away from me that easily!" Ruckus laughed and transformed his stand back to its speedy form.

"Enough of this!" Lian yelled, "Power Khan!" she said and brought out her stand.  
Power Khan appeared and looked at the sides of the crevice, then punched one side and made a large slab of rock cover part of the path.

"What are you doing!?" Lex yelled at her.

"It won't be able to pass through there, numbskull!" Lian started to run, "But we can!"

The three nodded and started to follow behind her, able to slip through the opening left behind.

Ruckus, however, had to slow down as his Blasted Bolt could not fit through.  
"Hrrr. Bolt!" he started reconfiguring his robot.

"Keep running! Who knows what that will do next!" Lex told them.

"You can't get away!" Ruckus yelled.  
A drill appeared in the place of Blasted Bolt's left hand and started to destroy the rock that blocked its path.

"What can't that robot do!?" Sarah cried out.

"Heeeeere's Ruckus!" Ruckus exclaimed as Blasted Bolt burst through the opening and rocketed towards them.

"Hrrr." Lian snarled, "Power Khan!" she called out her stand and stood still.

"Lian! What are you doing!?" Lex turned back.

"RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH!" Power Khan punched the side of the crevice as Ruckus zeroed in on Lian.

"Now I have you!" Ruckus yelled.

"Power Khan! Bring it down!" Lian shouted.

"RAH!" Power Khan wave one mighty punch and a huge rockslide tumbled down.

"WHAT?!" Ruckus gasped as he saw he was right under it, "NO!"  
The rocks fell on him and his stand, covering them whole.

The dust cleared to reveal a large pile stones where Ruckus and Blasted Bolt once where.

"There, now its done." Lian dusted off her dress and walked towards her allies, "It's best we get back on the trail before we get lost down here.

"Wow! That was incredible!" Sarah cheered.

"Excellent work." Zhin nodded and patted her back.

Lex walked up to Lian and nodded.  
"I should not have doubted you." He said and grabbed her by the waist, "The Law! Retrieve!"  
His stand appeared and shot the top of the crevice, then pulled them upwards by the beam of blue light.

"Awww." Sarah said as she called out her stand, "Want to ride with me, Zhin?"

"It's not like I have a choice." Zhin chuckled and grabbed on to Sarah's stand with his own, then the two flew upwards and caught up to Lian and Lex on the trail.

"Good job." Lex placed his hand on Lian's shoulder.

"No need to mention it." Lian smirked, "I know. A princess always does a good job."

"Now now, let's not get too cuddled up." Zhin shook his head, "We still need to find a way out of these mountains."

"Easier said than done." Sarah murmured as she saw the trail still winded for long distance down the mountains, "In fact, who-" she stopped when she felt the ground shake.

"What is that?" Lex looked down, "Why is the earth trembling?"

The shaking intensified with each passing moment.

"What the!?" Lian gasped when she saw cracks under her feet, but was then blasted away by a sudden burst of steam.

The earth erupted as Ruckus and Blasted Bolt shot out of it, the robot stand leading with a large drill made from both hands fusing.

"OH NO!" Sarah screamed as she saw their enemy had returned.

"There's no one like me!" Ruckus chuckled and looked at Lian, then drove his robot over to her.

"Ha… Ha…" Lian panted as she recuperated from the blow, then saw Blasted Bolt looming over.  
"Why you-" she paused when she saw two miniguns appear at the robot's sides.

"It's time to end you!" Ruckus laughed, then started to fire.

"Lian!" Lex yelled and was about to fire, but Ruckus brought out rocket launchers from his stand and the explosion stunned him.

"Lian!" Sarah shrieked as the firepower lay waste to its target.

"Yeahahahahaha!" Ruckus jeered and started to slow down his onslaught until it finally stopped with smoke, ashes, and a charred crater as its witnesses.  
"I win! This story ends on Chapter 10!" he taunted and turned to them.

Lian's smoking tiara landed in front of him.

"Lian…" Lex fell to his knees.

"It… can't be…" Zhin stammered.

However, the ground started to shake.

"Hmmm?" Ruckus murmured.

A crack suddenly appeared next to him.

"And who will replace me on the main title?" a feminine voice sound, and a light skinned arm appeared from that crack.

"W-w-what!?" Ruckus gasped as Lian appeared from a hole in the earth.

"You're not the only one who has the strength to dig through solid rock." Lian growled as she stood up, "Power Khan too!" she showed off her stand, who flexed behind her.

"That's impossible! I hit you with everything I had!" Ruckus cried out as he walked Blasted Bolt back.

Lian picked up her tiara and shifted it side to side.  
"What a pain…." She murmured, "Well, I must commend you. You did burn my dress." She pointed to the burn marks on her waist, "But I must say that makes me very angry."  
"ANGRY ENOUGH TO BEAT YOUR STUPID MACHINE TO NUTS AND BOLTS!"  
Power Khan grabbed Blasted Bolt from the top and beat it with its other hand senselessly, causing it to dent and crack under its immense power.  
"RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH!"

"Augh!" Ruckus groaned as he was ejected from his stand and landed right in front of Lex, Zhin, and Sarah.

"And this!" Lian made Power Khan slam Blasted Bolt down to the ground and stopped, shattering the enemy stand into planks and wood splinters which appeared to be from an old wagon.

"Well well well… Will you look at that?" Zhin said as he walked over to Ruckus, "You aren't a big goblin at all!"

Ruckus revealed himself to be very tiny, not much bigger than a toy dog.

"It's all in the head, I can tell." Lex chuckled and crossed his arms.

"Ah… ah…." Ruckus stammered, "Please! I was doing it for the money! I didn't have anything against you!"

"I thought you were trying to free your people." Sarah frowned.

Ruckus gasped, but then yelped when a hand grabbed him by the top of the head.  
It was Power Khan.

"You're not only a scum, but a liar too." Lian grunted, "And what's the punishment for perjury, Lex?"

"Exile from the town it was committed." Lex responded.

"Exile it is." Lian smirked, "Exile far away!"  
Power Khan turned around and threw Ruckus into the mountains in the distance.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ruckus screamed until his screams faded with his body.


	11. City of Lights

**Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 11**

 **The City of Lights**

* * *

Zhin sighed to himself as he pulled out a silver locket from his chest, then opened it up and looked at it under the moonlight.  
It contained an old portrait of a young woman with black hair and a smile on her face.  
"Mother, I have avenged you by killing one of your murderers." He told the picture and looked up to the sky, "I am sorry I failed to strike down the other."  
He clenched the locket hard in his fist and lowered his head.

"What are you moping about over here?" a voice told him, and Lian walked up next to the man, "Why are you not eating with us?" she asked and pointed to the campfire a small distance away, where Sarah and Lex were eating some squirrels they had caught in the woods.

"I have already eaten." Zhin responded and pointed to the branch next to him.

"A warrior like you can't run on mere berries." Lian said and sat down next to him, "Look. I know our team hasn't been the most connected, but I think we should. After all, Seris is sending too many assassins for us to be all divided amongst ourselves."

"What words of wisdom coming from a princess." Zhin smirked and looked at her.

"I may appear conceited, but I care about people. Trust me, no one cares more about others than I do." Lian flicked back her hair, "Look. Zhin was it? You're a great swordsman and think you got a fire in you."

"Thanks." Zhin nodded.

"What is that in your hand?" Lian asked when she saw the sparkle of the locket.

"Oh… It's a locket." Zhin responded.

"May I see it? It looks quite nice." Lian pointed at it, then opened her hand to get it from Zhin, "Silver with some gold plating. Charming for a commoner, of course."

"It's not about the material, princess." Zhin said, "I doubt someone like you can understand, but there's more to life than wealth and material riches."

Lian opened the locket and saw the picture inside.  
"Who is this woman? A girlfriend? Your wife? I never took you for one to be content with one lady." she smirked.

"That was my mother. It's the only portrait I have left of her." Zhin responded, "We were too poor to afford the luxuries of having our faces plastered on statues and murals, but she did have enough for this small painting. I thank her for that."

Lian felt a bitter taste in her mouth.  
"You know… I never told anyone in our group this but I'm not actually the heir to House Aico." She murmured.

"What do you mean?" Zhin asked, noticing Lian's face had gained a somber look.

"I was only told this when my parents, the king and queen, died." Lian said, "Two years ago. Well at least I thought they were my parents."

"Pssh. You, an orphan?" Zhin scoffed, "Please, you don't know what it's like to be an orphan."

"Can you please let me finish?" Lian said with a hint of anger and sadness in her tone.

Zhin noticed this was genuine and nodded.

"Apparently it was revealed to me by who was my royal nanny that I was not the child of the king and the queen." Lian told him, "It happened that their child actually died, but I had appeared on the castle's doorstep and in their grief and compassion took me in and raised me as their own. If you look at the portraits of them, they both had black hair, does it look like I can be their child?" she pointed at her wool white hair.

"I suppose not." Zhin chuckled.

"To this day, I still don't know who my parents are, but the king and the queen loved me so much I didn't even bother to care." Lian smiled, "What I'm trying to say is family can be found anywhere if they care for you and you care for them."

Zhin stood silent and looked back at Lex and Sarah, who were still eating by the campfire.

"But I think that's enough bonding." Lian sighed and stood up. "Here's your locket." She handed it to him.

Zhin took it from her and stood up as well.

"Lex came back from scouting and said he spotted a coastal hamlet not too far from here." Lian informed, "He proposed that since it just became night, we could travel to it and reach it before midnight. He wants your thoughts on it."

Zhin pondered as the two walked back to meet their two allies.  
"Hey Lex." He called out to the enforcer.

"Has Lian told you about my plan?" Lex asked, "She and Sarah had already agreed with it, but since you're a part of our team, we need your input."

Zhin chuckled.  
"It's not like I can disagree with such odds against me." He said, "I think we should give it a try. It's so pitch black in these woods that we are likely to be eaten by a grue." He joked.

Lex nodded.  
"It settles it then, we make haste towards the village!" he pointed to the coast in the distance.

"It was so warm here too." Sarah murmured and put out the fire her stand generated.

"Relax, Sarah. We all have to step out of our comfort zone." Lian said and patted Zhin on the back.  
"We also desperately need the supplies after we lost it all to that little vermin back there." She growled and started to walk away.

The three walked behind her.

"You sure did lay the beat down on that goblin." Lex chuckled.

"Look who is talking, Mr. Police Brutality." Zhin responded with a smile.

"I only use the force necessary to apprehend a suspect." Lex responded and shook his head, "If they resist, then the fault is on them."

"The fault was on him." Lian said, "According to Lex, he was 'Doing 50 in a 15 mile per hour zone. He's leading us on chase. Backup requested'." She imitated Lex's stern voice.

The three (excluding Lex) laughed.

"My job is a serious business." Lex grunted.

"Relax, Lex." Sarah said, "We're only banting."

Lex grinned and gave a small laugh.

00000000

The four arrived at the outskirts of the village and saw that all the lights were still on inside the buildings.

"Strange for anyone to be awake at this hour." Sarah said, "Especially the whole town."

"Must be some kind of fishing festival." Zhin pointed to the pier that stuck out from the village and saw that there was a group of people sitting there with their fishing poles out.

"Ah… I hope so." Sarah murmured, "I'm starving."

"You just ate two squirrels back there." Lex told her with an incredulous look on his face.

Lian sighed and shifted her tiara side to side, "What a pain…"

"Hold on here." Zhin said and saw that the people of the village walked about its streets very lazily, "What's going on here?" he asked.

The four set foot on the main dirt road and looked at some of the villagers that were lumbering about.

"Look at that." Sarah pointed to the ship docked on the harbor, "They must have some visitors."

"I hope the inn isn't full." Lian pointed at the largest building on the street, "And if it isn't, I hope all the sailors are sleeping on the ship." She grumbled.

"Let's see if we can get some rest." Lex said as he saw the night sky, "It is almost midnight."

"At least we arrived here early." Zhin shrugged his shoulders as they walked towards the inn, "Hmmmm." He noticed the villagers seemed to be actively avoiding them and always had their backs turned.

"What's wrong?" Sarah asked as she noticed Zhin looking around uncomfortably.

"Nothing… Must be my tired eyes." Zhin shook off his suspicion and followed his allies to the inn.

The inn's main room was surprisingly empty.  
Very empty.

The only person inside was the man on the counter.

The four walked up to the counter and saw the most peculiar thing.  
The man had purple skin covered by a scrappy pirate's outfit. He also had some sunglasses covering his eyes.

"Uhhh…" Lian mumbled.

"What can I do ye fer?" the man spoke, "Welcome to Kraken's Inn, we're happy to have yer service." He rubbed his gray beard.

"Can I have a room?" Lex spoke, keeping his eye on the man's actions.

"That'll be two dobloons." The man spoke, "Or fer ye landlubbers, two hundred coins."

"Fine, we'll take it." Lex spoke and pulled out two bags of coins, "What is with the attire?" he asked as the man counted the money.

"Do ye not see?" the man spoke as he pointed to the nautical decorations covering the walls of the lobby, "I do this for an act."

"And the purple skin?" Lian asked.

"Act."

"Oh yeah?" Sarah asked, "Well then who is flickering the lights?" she murmured and saw the lights were dimming and brightening.

"Bad electricity from old crystals." The man sighed, "Are ye landlubbers going to ye room or not?" he took out a key from the desk.

"Hmmm." Lex grumbled and took them.

"Please sign in." the pirate receptionist pulled out a dusty old book and pen.

The four looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders and started to sign their names in.  
 _SHERIFF LEX LAWSON, LAPD  
HER MAJESTY LIAN AICO THE FIRST OF HOUSE AICO  
SARAH K.  
ZHIN PAO-PAO_

"Really?" the pirate grumbled at the first two names.

"You asked for our names, that is my name. My full title." Lian grunted, "Have some respect, commoner."

The four made their way up the stairs.

"The tavern is open until 2 in the mornin of any of ye wish to drink up." The pirate called out to them, then gave a hearty laugh.  
"That is… if ye survive the night…" he murmured and looked at the door.

The villagers from outside lumbered in with glowing purple eyes.

0000000000

Lian and Lex lay on the bed as Sarah ate an apple and Zhin looked at a book.

"What a peculiar character, don't you think?" the swordsman spoke up and closed his book and set it on a nightstand.

"A very odd fellow indeed." Lian sighed, "What did you think about him?" she turned to Lex.

"I don't think we can judge men by the color of their skin." Lex responded.

Zhin had a deadpan look on his face.

"But the content of his character is something I would judge." Lex added, "Even if he was playing an act for the sake of this establishment, it seemed too forced in my opinion."

"What are your thoughts, detective?" Zhin leaned on the desk behind him.

"Something is concerning, but I do not have the ideas nor the evidence to make a conclusion." Lex answered and looked at Lian.

"I didn't see anything with Power Khan, even with its enhanced vision." The princess announced, "I guess we shouldn't be too fidgety or anything about everyone."

"Hard not to be when Seris has sent assassins that have appeared from every nook and cranny." Sarah said and threw away her apple core.

"All this thinking makes me want to get a drink." Zhin sighed and looked at the clock, "Good. The tavern is still open. If the booze is bad, we will know this whole thing is an act." he joked and stood up.  
"Anyone care to join me?"

"I'll be with you in a second." Lian responded, "I too need the feel to drink some wine for my soul." she said.

"See you down there. For the rest, I'll try not to barge just in case you fall asleep." Zhin added and stepped out of the room.  
He walked down the silent halls and turned left until he reached the stairs, keeping a watchful eye and listening ears on his surroundings.

A door creaked.

The swordsman turned to see a cleaner come out of one of the rooms and turn her body to face away from him.  
"Hmph." He grunted and continued onward when he saw her dusting off one of the desks, "Why is this place so damn unsettling?" he asked himself and walked down the stairs until he hit the main lobby.

It was still mostly empty with only three people sitting on the sofas with their faces covered by books.

Zhin shook his head and walked towards the tavern, which was to the right of the lobby.  
He made his way inside, quickly waving away the smoke that hit his face when he walked inside.

There was a good quantity of people in the tavern, however, they all had their faces lowered as they drank their alcohol and smoked their cigars.

"Can I have a glass of mead?" Zhin asked as he sat down in front of the counter.

The bartender turned to reveal himself as the pirate receptionist.

"Huh? What are you doing here?" Zhin asked, shocked at the sight.

"I take care of the hotel and the tavern, ye fool." The pirate grumbled, "Now what did ye say ye wanted again?"

"Mead." Zhin grunted.

"Good." The pirate chuckled and poured out some mead into a glass.

Zhin sighed and drank his drink whole but was hit by a sudden pain in his head.  
"What is this!?" he groaned.

"What are ye, a wee lad?" The pirate taunted and poured another glass, "The men around ye have drank in the double digits, ye coward."

Zhin grumbled and saw the burly sailors around him.  
"Shut up." He said and chugged another glass, "AH! What the hell!?" his vision became blurred and his heart beat rapidly as he fell back to the ground.

"Good job… Now I can kill ye!" the pirate took off his sunglasses and revealed his glowing blue eyes behind them.

The sailors in the tavern all stood up, revealing their deathly faces and their glowing blue eyes as well.

"What… What is going on?" Zhin stumbled to get up, "I… feel poisoned!" he threw up on the ground.

"Call me Admiral Dredge." The receptionist jumped on the counter.

Zhin saw the sailors and patrons come closer to him in a zombie-like trance, "I need to get out of here!" he said and started to run.

"Nowhere to run, landlubber!" Admiral Dredge laughed as the sailors started to pile on the door.

"Thousand Hands!" Zhin yelled and called out his stand, which led sword first and cut through a group of the sailors.  
Zhin expertly jumped through this opening and made it to the lobby, where he the villagers that had stormed in from the front door.  
"What is going on here!?" he said as he looked at their blue eyes.

"Blow the man down!" Dredge yelled from the tavern, and one of the villagers threw his axe at Zhin.

"Counter!"  
Thousand Hands caused the axe to fly back at the villager.  
"HWAK!" Zhin was bitten on the right calf by a cat, "What!?" he turned to see the cat with blue eyes gnaw into his leg.  
Thousand Hands appeared and cut the cat in two before kicking it away.

"It's too late…" Dredge came out of the Tavern with a purple smoke surrounding him, "It's too late for ye."

"I'm going to cut you to bits!" Zhin pointed at Dredge.

"If ye can!" the admiral chortled and pointed at his injured leg.

Zhin looked down and gasped when he saw a ghostly purple tentacle appear and enter his wound.  
"Thousand Hands!"

"Too late!"

Zhin's leg jerked and caused his to fall to the ground.

"Hahahaha!" Dredge laughed as he dragged Zhin back into the tavern, "Now, fer ye friends." He called away the villagers and sailors, returning them back to their original places.

At this time, Lian came down the stairs and saw that the lobby was empty, save for three villagers that were reading books.

"Hmmm…" Lian murmured and walked towards the tavern, "I hope Zhin hasn't started without me." She commented and shook her head.  
"Who am I kidding, he's probably on his fifth glass right now." She said and entered the smoky tavern.

"Ahoy there, matey!" Dredge, posing as the receptionist/bartender, waved at the princess.

"Hmmm?" Lian looked at him, "I suppose since you run the place…" she shrugged her shoulders and walked to the counter.  
"Have you seen my friend, Zhin?" she asked as she looked around the tavern.

"The eastern man?" Dredge asked, "With long black hair? He went to the bathroom. These are his drinks." he pointed at the two glasses of mead on the counter.

"At least he hasn't gone all out." Lian sighed, "Do you have any wine?"

"Red or white?" Dredge responded to her question as he walked down behind the counter.

"As long as it's good." Lian said, "Which I doubt there will be in this shanty slum."

Dredge growled and held a small dagger in his free hand.  
"Here ye go, lass. The best we have." He said and pulled out a bottle of red wine. He then went to grab a wineglass and placed it in front of her.

 _Good. Unlike that other fool, which was put into a shock, this wine will slow her down… Alongside that fearsome stand of hers._  
Dredge grumbled at his last encounter with Power Khan as Judd Roberts.

"Thank you." Lian nodded and opened the wine bottle, then started pouring it in.

 _Once ye set that glass down, I'll prick ye with me knife_.  
Dredge looked at her delicate right hand and clenched his hidden dagger.

"This smells disgusting." Lian stepped back with the wine glass and looked at it, "How terrible." She shook her head, "No wonder Zhin went to the restroom early." She murmured and walked towards it.

Dredge cursed to himself.  
"Lassie, please, I'll serve ye another." He said, trying to stop her from entering the restroom.

Behind the restroom doors was Zhin, bound to the ground by an unseen force controlling his body.  
"What is this? Is this the power of his stand?" Zhin growled as he tried to move his body, "It feels like something is treating me like a puppet- Hey! LI-" his jaw clenched, preventing him from speaking.

Outside, Lian walked towards the counter where Dredge was holding a bottle of white wine.

 _This time, I'll just clobber her with it_. The admiral thought as the princess neared him.

"Whatever you say." Lian shrugged her shoulders and walked towards the captain.

 _I can't trust any of my slaves to take care of this girl. I have to do it meself._ Dredge's anticipation rose as the woman got nearer and nearer.

"By the way." Lian stopped in her tracks, "Someone dropped this." She picked up a rusty metal headband.

Dredge's eyes widened from behind his sunglasses.

"It looks familiar." Lian inspected it, "I've seen this before. Eh, you can have it." She chucked it at the admiral.  
"It's too disgusting for my tastes."

"I do not want it, it brings bad memories." Dredge threw the headband away.

"Of course it does." Lian glared at Dredge, "Because that is Valeria's headband, the one I used against a stupid sea captain to kill him."

Dredge snarled and lost concentration in his anger.

"Lian!" Zhin burst out the door, "Don't let anyone cut you! His stand does some-"

"I WILL KILL YE!" Dredge yelled, and all the sailors in the tavern pounced at Lian with sharp objects in their hands.

"Hmph…" Lian grumbled.  
Power Khan appeared from within her.  
"RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH!" it yelled and punched all those sailors away into the walls around the tavern.

Dredge growled, but then chortled as the sailors stood back up regardless of their injuries, even the ones that had been cleaved by Thousand Hands just prior.

Lian gasped.

"It's his stand!" Zhin yelled as he saw the smoke in the air turn purplish in color, "It must have control over the dead and the living!"

"Silence, seadog!" Dredge made Zhin fall to the ground.  
Dredge removed his sunglasses, revealing his glowing blues eyes filled with hatred.  
"I finally found ye, princess lass." He snarled and jumped on the counter.

"I don't think we've met." Lian crossed her arms.

"Have ye ever heard the pirate legend of Judd Roberts?"

Lian and Zhin's ears perked up.

"He was a famous Captain who sailed the Eight Seas and all the waters in the Realm." Dredge spoke, "One day, he took an offer from a beautiful woman who promised him great treasures. Unfortunately, that offer led to his death at the bottom of a dark river…. Or so the princess who killed him thought."  
He stepped towards Lian.  
"The beautiful woman who had given him the offer brought him back to life with power of the Abyss. Now this man was reborn into the terror of the Sea and the Night, into… Admiral Dredge!"

The inn around them started to vanish into vapor, causing Lex and Sarah to fall to the ground a good distance away from them.

On the shore, a large purple octopus being appeared from the mist.

"This is my new Stand!" Dredge said, "Granted to me by the Abyss and Lady Seris! DAVY JONE'S SHOCKER!"

The Kraken-like stand laughed alongside Dredge.

"Get away!" Lex yelled as he blasted some of the cursed villagers with his stand.

Davy Jone's Shocker loomed over them as it sat atop Dredge in a purple mist.

"One cut, and the Abyss takes control of your body!" Dredge said and snapped his fingers, causing Zhin to punch himself in the face.

Lian growled.  
"That's if it can even survive this!" she said and called out Power Khan, who started punching the stand.

However, each punch only hit the supernatural purple mist.

"You cannot hit a ghost!" Dredge laughed, "And now! Ye die!" he said and threw his hidden dagger at Lian.

"RAH!" Power Khan swooped down and punched it too late, as it ricocheted off its fist and stabbed Lian in the foot.

"Hngh!" Lian gasped and fell to her knees.

"She hungers…" Dredge chuckled as his stand's purple tentacles slithered along the mist towards Lian's wound.

"Lian!" Zhin yelled and tried to cut the tentacles with his sword, but it only hit the mist.

"It's over! I have my revenge!" Dredge cackled, "LIAN IS MY PUPPET!"

However, Lian only stood up straight in the face of danger.  
She sighed and shifted her tiara side to side, "What a pain…."

"Hmmm?" Dredge looked at the completely unafraid Lian, "What are ye rattling about?"

"You will die before you take over my body." Lian grumbled.

"Do not be so foolish, seadog!" Dredge scoffed and pointed at the tentacles nearing her, "Look! It's ov-"

"RAH!" Power Khan appeared, extended its arms, and spun around rapidly, creating a vortex of air that started to suck up all the mist into a tornado.

"What!?" Dredge gasped as his stand was being sucked up by the twister, "Wha-Wha-Wha!?" his body itself started to spin around.

"Sarah! Get rid of this mist!" Lian called out.

Sarah jumped over a zombified dog.  
"I sense that Abyss energy from here… Can it be my sister's doing!?" she stood next to Lian, "Lian! We need to keep him alive! Perhaps his connection to the Abyss can give us an insight into the nature of Seris' stand!"

"As long as he doesn't bother us for the rest of the trip." Lian responded.

Sarah nodded.  
"Furious Flame!" she called out her stand, "CROSSPYRE HURRICANE SPECIAL!"

The angelic stand shot out a special fire shaped like ancient symbols from its palms and blasted it at the misty stand.

"IT burns! IT BURNS!" Dredge cried out as the Pyre Energy started to burn his Abyssal aura.

The stand vaporized, but Dredge stood still before falling to the ground.

"I didn't kill him." Sarah informed, "I killed the stand, which would mean certain death for anyone, but the Abyss must be keeping him alive."

"Wait, killing a stand can kill you?" Zhin asked.

"Yes. I guess I should have explained that earlier in the story." Sarah mumbled, "But we need to be careful. When a person turns to the abyss, they can die from sunlight. It will be day when this person will wake up."

"Everyone, look!" Lex pointed as the mist started to die around them.

The villagers that were attacking them fell down into bones, and the houses around them vanished in the wind.

"Wow…." Zhin murmured as he saw that it was only a small inlet littered with bones and a shipwreck.

"That stand was very powerful… Making an entire area for us to be around without noticing it." Lain commented, "Is this the power of the Abyss?"

"Yes, but it is not insurmountable." Sarah told her.

"I know." Lian smiled and looked at her allies, "That's because nothing is insurmountable for us."

"I second that." Sarah grinned.

"I third that." Lex nodded.

Zhin chuckled and raised his hand with a bright smile, "I fourth that!"

"We should get going to the real town." Sarah pointed to a soft glow in the distance down the trail, "So we can protect this man from the sun when it comes up." She pointed at Dredge.

"Alright, but I'm not carrying him." Lian crossed her arms and walked over the Admiral's body. "Lex, be a dear and do it for me."

Lex sighed and picked up their enemy.  
"Let's go." He huffed a bit of air, and the four continued on their way.

 **00000000**

"From the bottom of my soul, I knew he would fail." A pale woman murmured from the shadows of a dark lair, "But Fate always finds a way to seal itself." She said and looked at a portrait on the wall.  
"Let this one not fail…" she turned around and disappeared into the darkness.


	12. It's Plastic Love

**Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chatper 12**

 **I'm Just Playing Games, it's Plastic Love**

* * *

"Hurry!" the four Paladins ran towards the town ahead of them, all of them heaving Dredge.  
"We can't let that sunlight touch him!" Sarah said as the morning started to arrive.

"I'm so exhausted…" Lian panted as the sleep deprivation started to take its toll.

"We need to keep going, Lian." Lex grumbled as he also started to slow down.

"What's a little pain anyways?" Zhin closed his eyes and started to sweat.

"Just a few more kilometers!" Sarah told them, then breathed in deeply. A surge of mystical fire ran through her veins and gave her new energy.

"How much longer must we keep this up?" Lian groaned as her heels bore themselves into her legs, "I can't run in these boots!"

"Should've thought of that before taking them on this journey, princess." Zhin snarled.

"Shut up! Your drivel is driving me mad!" Lex yelled.

Though they were tiring, the four were giving it their all to make it to the town.

00000000000

"That'll be two hundred coins." A man at the counter told an elf woman with purple hair, "Thanks for choosing Sleepy Sheep Inn." He grabbed the bag she handed to him, "You're here very early." He saw as the sun was barely peeking over the horizon line.

The door of the inn suddenly burst open.

"Clear the table!" Sarah told Zhin as they came in, "Close the windows!" she told Lian.

Lex came in with Dredge over his shoulder.

Zhin slid all the articles on the nearby table off, shattering some vases and dropping some books.

"Hey!" the receptionist called out as the newcomers made a mess of his lobby.

Lian pulled over the curtains to the window to block out any outside sun.

Lex dropped Dredge on the table and took a step back to catch his breath.

"Argh….." Dredge groaned as he started to wake up from all the commotion, "What… what…" he said weakly and struggled to move.

"Dredge." Sarah walked up to him and placed her hand on his head.  
"As I speak, I am building up Pyre energy on my hand and will release at a moment's notice to your brain if you don't listen to me." She said.

Dredge felt a heat from her palm that was intolerable.

"Pyre energy will destroy the creatures of the Abyss, which you now are." Sarah continued, "Now tell me…"

"ARGHHH!" Dredge suddenly convulsed in pain.

"What!?" Sarah stepped back as a purple liquid oozed out from his eyes and pores.

"What's going on!?" Zhin asked as the admiral continued to tremble and foam at the mouth.

"Well… Well… Well…" a seductive voice said.

The four turned to see the purple haired elf woman strutting towards them.

"Are you doing this?" Lex growled as the elf stopped in front of him and leaned on his chest.

"My… how very deductive." The elf said and ran her fingers across his chestplate, "And very…. Strongly built too. You are a Lawman after all, so I assumed that."

"Who are you, you wench?" Zhin snarled.

"My, how ungentlemanly of you." The elf sighed, "But I think we should get to the action instead of introductions."

"ARGH!" Dredge yelled and shook uncontrollably, "What is happening to me?!"

"What are you doing to him!?" Sarah pointed at the elf.

"My my my… All these questions turn a woman off." The elf smirked and walked around Lex, "Lex… Why are they so questioning? Why can't they be direct as you? Huh?" she grabbed his chin and kissed his cheek.

Lian seethed in anger.  
"Unhand him you slut!" she walked over to her.

"Why…" the woman snarled, "Who is this piece of rubbish?"

"AGHHHH!" Dredge gave out a curdling yell.

"He's dying!" Sarah gasped.

"As he should be." The elf commented, "Seris commanded it."

"Seris? That's that evil lady you keep talking about!" Zhin told Sarah, "She probably sent that woman to kill him!"

"Sorry, I can only like one smart man!" The elf blew a raspberry at Zhin and slapped Lex's hindquarters.

"Dredge!" Sarah grabbed hold of the pirate, "Did you hear that? Seris betrayed you! She personally sent someone to kill you! She can't be trusted! She must be stopped! Please, you must help us defeat her!"

"No….." Dredge twitched.

"Dredge! Seris is not who you think she is!" Sarah cried out to him, "She is an evil woman who is willing to step over anyone to achieve her victory! Trust me!" she shook him, "Please Dredge…. Tell us the secret to Seris' Stand!"

Dredge gasped for air.  
"Me lady…. She gave me life…. Even when I failed her…. Nothing will cause me to lose faith in that beautiful siren…. Seris…. I love ye… Even… if I…. di….." he gave out one more huff of air.

"Boo hooo." The elf woman taunted and opened the curtains, allowing the morning sun to shower over the admiral.

Dredge's body started to crack, then burned and turned to ash.

"OH PYRE!" Sarah yelled and shook her head.

"You miser!" Zhin pointed at the elf woman.

"Let me take care of her!" Lian stepped up and glared at her, "What is your name before I beat you to a bloody pulp!"

"Like I would tell a wench like you my name." the elf woman scoffed, "Lex… would you ask me for my name?"

"Listen here-"

"What is your name?" Lex interrupted Lian.

"I'm honored you asked." The elf woman smiled, "Very well, for my lover's sake I will tell you. My name is Skye, and I have the Stand called PLASTIC LOVE."

"Good, now show it." Sarah grumbled.

"I already have." Skye giggled, "Or are you too blind to see? And I thought nobody could be as bad as that white-haired hag standing there."

Lian snarled and Power Khan appeared from within her.  
"RAH!" the stand yelled and punched Skye in the stomach and launched her back.

"UWAHK!" Lex grunted as a punch appeared in his stomach and made him spit out blood.

"So feisty…." Skye panted as she stood back up.

"Lex?!" Lian turned to see Lex stand up from the blow.

"What… What happened?" the lawman panted as he held his stomach, "Who hit me?"

"She did, Lex…" Skye pointed to Lian, "I guess she's not as good as you thought. Why don't you come with me, I showed you my love." She pointed at the kiss mark on his cheek.

Zhin and Sarah saw as the kiss mark started to glow, then sunk below his Lex's skin.

"What is happening!?" Lex said as he felt a buzz in his head.

"My stand is already inside of you…" Skye sighed, "Oh…. How I wish you were inside of me, however…"

"You filthy-" Lex punched the elf woman, only to be punched himself.  
"Agh!"

"It appears that whenever she is hurt, Lex is hurt too!" Sarah informed.

"And when I am killed, guess who also dies?" Skye giggled and looked at Lian, who stood over her.  
"I guess you have some work cut out ahead of you."

Lian growled and picked up the elf woman.  
"What must I do for you to remove your stand from him?"

"Well, the poison is already running through his blood, so I think you should do some quick things for me." Skye informed as she stepped outside of the inn, "Also... about your pirate captain..." she peeked her head in, "Guess who gave him a good bye kiss for luck?" she smirked and walked out.

"Poison!?" Zhin gasped, "How!?"

"It did go inside his skin…." Sarah murmured, "Lian, you must stop her while we find out how she's doing these things to Lex!"

Lian nodded and stepped outside, then saw Skye standing by a fountain across the street.

"Look who decided to follow." Skye smiled and started walking.

"You better remove yourself from Lex." Lian ran up to her and grumbled, "Or there will be hell to pay."

"You know you cannot hurt me without hurting him." Skye responded and twirled around, "I thought you liked him, but noting how much you want to hurt him, I don't think so."

"I do not like him." Lian rolled her eyes, "But I do not want him to be hurt either." She murmured and glared at her.  
"Too bad I can't beat that shit-eating grin off your face, you disgusting pig." She clenched her fists as Power Khan appeared.

"Relax, I can remove my stand from Lex's brain." Skye chuckled, "But you do have to make some sacrifices. That's what love is all about, no?" she said and grabbed paintbrush from a nearby work project.

Lian gasped when the elf grabbed her and then moved the brush across her chest.  
"You-" she raised her fist, but remembered that Lex would be hurt.

"And done." Skye stepped back and threw away the brush.

20 COINS read what she painted on Lian's chest.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Lian growled, then saw some young men walking towards her.

"Hey hey hey!" one of them removed his sunglasses as they strolled by, "Hey baby, you're pretty cheap. Want to go to the inn with those prices?" he laughed.

"I can't believe a girl as good as you is that low!" one of his friends added, "Anyone have some change? I may give her a go too!"

Lian snarled and called out Power Khan.  
"RAH!" Power Khan punched all five men across the face, knocking them back.

"Hurting innocent people?" Skye sighed, "I thought you were the good guys." She taunted and started to walk off.

"Wait a minute!" Lian followed her through the town.  
"Don't think I'm going to leave you just because you painted this on m- What are you looking at!?" she yelled at an older man who was staring at her.

"You should be thankful I'm giving you this much attention." Skye shrugged her shoulders, "I don't think you get these many men looking at you with your looks."

"Do you know who you talk to?" Lian snarled, "I am a princess. I have men lining at my palace doors begging to marry me! Men of renown and wealth!"

"They must be blind." Skye scoffed and stepped to the side, then stomped on the ground.

"What are you- NYAH!" Lian gasped when steam shot out of a vent that was under her. She immediately tried to push her skirt down.

A couple of old men who were lounging nearby hollered and cheered, then started to stomp on the ground some more.

"Cease that!" Lian yelled at them as the vent current got stronger.  
"HRAHH!" Power Khan came out and pushed Lian forward.

"Run off, you old coots." Skye told the old men, "Don't you think you've seen enough?" she showed off her own curves.

The old men fainted immediately.

"How dare you embarrass a princess!?" Lian shook her fist at her.

"You do a pretty good job of doing that yourself." Skye chuckled and the two continued walking down the street.  
"Look at you, you're all thin and frail… Though I must admit you have quite the upper thigh, but that's only for old men to look at."

"My urge to beat you for your insolence is beyond the scales." Lian murmured and gnashed her teeth.

"And these clothes… are these silk?" Skye felt her up and rubbed her hands over clothing, "I guess you want to appear like either a curtain or a heavy set of lingerie…" she chuckled, "It's a common fact alcohol can damage silk, however."

The elf grabbed a bottle of liquor from a sleeping beggar and splashed it all over Lian's clothes.

"My clothes!" Lian shrieked and punched Skye across the face, launching her into a fruit stand.

00000000000

"AGHHHH!" Lex flew into the inn's wall.

"Well… I guess Lian must have snapped…" Zhin murmured as the enforcer groaned in pain.

"We need to find out where that stand is." Sarah said, "The good part is that we removed the clear and present danger that was the poison." She looked at her Pyre infused hand.

00000000000

Skye and Lian continued walking down the city until they reached the park.

"We're here, chicken legs." The elf laughed as she sat down on a park bench and looked at her hostage, "And if I am about right, your Lex has about five minutes before the poison shuts down his heart." She looked at the town clock across from her.

"Did you just call me chicken legs?" Lian snarled, "Alright, you wench, listen here." She pointed at the elf, "At least I'm not some disgusting sex object whose life revolves around a few minutes of pleasure with the gods know how many men. No wonder your legs are in such great shape, you open them all the time!"

"Go to hell, chicken legs!" Skye stood up and punched Lian across the face, "Just because you're a princess doesn't mean you're entitled to some respect. In fact, the only reason men respect women is for cash or for their looks, so I suppose you must be real damn lucky you have riches unimaginable! I bet men would rather get to know a scarecrow in bed than you, you pile of twigs."

Lian slapped her across the face.

000

"OOF!" Lex grunted as his face jerked.

000

"That must be that virgin rage, I knew of women who go mad after not knowing a man for so long." Skye chuckled, "It must be happening to you, seeing how old you are." She pointed at the princess' white hair.  
"I wonder how it will be for your first man, if that ever happens… It may be like sticking a sword into a rusty old scabbard."

"At least it won't be like jumping into a pit of gorlocks as it is with you." Lian scoffed, "A wagon could go through your whorish gates."

Skye kneed her in the gut, then kicked her down to the ground.

"Get off me!" Lian booted her shin.

000

Lex barely stood up, "I'm feeling fin- AGH!" he fell to the ground when something hit his shin.  
"Dammit!"

"That stand is implanted directly on your brain." Sarah revealed the makings of Lex's being with Pyre Energy, then pointed to a black area on his head, "That is not part of his body… and may be the enemy stand. But to get it out…"

"I have this." Zhin said and took out Thousand Hands.

"No you don't!" Lex shook his head, "Stop this!"

Sarah looked at Zhin.  
"You need to be very precise, if you go in too deep you will stab his brain and kill him. If you do it right, I can just heal the hole with my Pyre."

"What are you going to do to me?" Lex stammered.

"Just… Close your eyes." Zhin told him, "Don't worry, Sarah, I'm very precise."

"Alright." Sarah said and called out her stand to hold Lex's head back, "I can't have you moving Lex, for your own safety."

"What are you doing!?" the enforcer yelled.

"This is going to be quick!" Zhin yelled, "Thousand Hands!"  
Thousand Hands aimed its sword at Lex's forehead, then quickly stabbed it and retracted it.

"Pyre!" Sarah placed her hand on Lex's head and blasted it with Pyre energy, causing the blood that shot out of the hole to stop as it covered up.

"Agh!" Lex held his head.

"Worry not! Look!" Zhin said as he held the enemy stand at the tip of his sword.

It appeared to be an insect-like being with a heart shaped exoskeleton, but it quickly disappeared.

"What?!" the three yelled.

00000000000

 _They managed to take out my stand…._ Skye thought to herself as she pushed Lian's head down with her foot, driving it to the ground.  
 _This is not good, I can't let Lian know I can no longer affect Lex. But…. I can affect her, I just need to kiss her_.

The elf removed her leg.

Lian quickly stood up and faced her foe.  
"You killed Lex…. I will never forgive you for it!" she yelled.

"Lian!" a voice called out.  
It was Lex and their allies.

"How did you find us so fast!?" Skye gasped.

"A pair of local Lawmen informed us of two women causing a disturbance of the peace in the park." Zhin chuckled, "We figured it may have been you two arguing over Bad Cop over here."

"Your time is up, Skye!" Sarah pointed at her, "We removed not only the poison from Lex's body, but also your stand! You have no power over him!"

Lian turned to face Skye and smirked.

"Damn it!" Skye yelled and jumped to kiss Lian.

"No you don't!" Lex yelled and called out The Law, then shot Skye.

The elf stumbled back from the blast and held her shoulder in pain.  
"Ah… Ah…" she looked up and noticed she fell too far back to kiss Lian, "Hehehehehe…" she giggled uneasily an stood up.  
"I was just joking, Lian. I really had nothing out for you."

Lian stood silent with her arms crossed as the wind blew across the park.

"It was all between girls, right? I never had an intention on killing your boyfriend over there, honest!" Skye spoke worriedly, "You also look absolutely fabulous! It must be all the royalty running through those veins. You look absolutely divine! They should make a beautiful goddess dress for you!"

"Pathetic." Zhin sighed as he saw the elf grovel.

"I didn't mean to call you a virgin or chicken legs either! It was all in the passion of anger!" Skye chuckled, "It was all in good girl time! What do you need to forgive me? I have money! Seris already paid me to get rid of that evil pirate that was sent to kill you! Do you want that!?"

Lian snarled.

"Or maybe you just want a heartfelt apology!" Skye stammered, "Oh please forgive me Lian, from the bottom of my heart! I hope we can be good friends even after all the mean things we did to each other! Oh I just want to forgive you with hugs and kisses!"

Lian shifted her tiara side to side.  
"What a pain…" she grumbled and looked at the elf, "You truly are the worst person I've ever faced, and to make it worse you had some gods-awful competition…. Did you really think you can pay back all you told me... with Hugs and Kisses!?"

Power Khan appeared.  
"RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH!" it released a fury of punches on Skye's body.  
"RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH!

Power Khan kicked and punched her.

"RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH!"  
"RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH!"

"RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH!"  
"RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH!"

"RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH!"  
"RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH!"

Skye's body bent at every punch that hit her, and sprays of blood came out from her face constantly.

"YOU BITCH!" Lian yelled at the top of her lungs and made Power Khan punch Skye so hard it sent her flying into the clock tower with such force that it broke the brick wall that made it up.

Power Khan retracted.

"At least I didn't end up being flat chested." Lian murmured and walked up to Lex, then kissed him in the mouth.

Sarah and Zhin's eyes opened wide.

"Let no one else kiss you ever again." Lian pulled away and continued walking down the road in anger.

"Perhaps we should let her cool off before we go?" Zhin asked.

"Oh yeah, definitely." Sarah nodded, "What do you think, Lex? Lex?"

Lex was already following behind Lian.

* * *

 **I'd like to say thank you to all my readers! It's great I can entertain people with this little spoof!**

 **Have the best!**

 **Please Review!**

 **-SuperMastour**


	13. Progress in Leaps and Bounds

**Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 13**

 **Progress in Leaps and Bounds**

* * *

Sarah sighed as she brushed Lian's hair while the princess was asleep, moving her delicate hands over the wool white locks and humming as she did so.

Lex stood watching them from across the campfire while Zhin was fast asleep on the ground behind him.

"Isn't she so beautiful?" Sarah asked from the blue and patted Lian's cheek.

Lex was taken back by the question.  
"It is not in my place to say such things." He responded and stretched out his arms to warm his hands in the fire.

Sarah nodded and looked back at Lian.  
"Have you ever made a sacrifice, Lex?" she asked.

"Plenty. Too many for me to be proud of." Lex answered, "Though there were some good sacrifices here and there." He mumbled and looked at the ground.  
"I remember when I was sent out to capture a notorious assaulter." He said, "I barely started out as a Judge, and I was thrown to a case to get the bounty on an ork that had seized women. I made the sacrifice of catching the ork while his victim was tied to railroad tracks and…."

"I made a couple of sacrifices in my long life." Sarah said.

"Long life?" Lex looked at her with a hint of skepticism.

"I may look young, but I can be your mother." Sarah chuckled and looked at the fire as well.  
"and I can say my sister sacrificed much as well for power… for greed…. For a delusion and an obsession that consumed her soul."

"Hmmmm… That is how many criminals start off." Lex pondered.

"My sister is on another level… I could never believe she would be alright with killing innocent people that have nothing to do with her." Sarah let out some tears, "I hate her so much."

"Channel that hatred into zeal." Lex murmured, "Hatred on its own is a terrible force of drive, but Zeal… I believe Zeal is one of the most powerful forces to have. It gives purpose for a cause greater than one's self. You see, when I was starting off as a judge, I hated the criminal scum on a personal level, but once I grew, I made it my personal oathbound duty to eradicate all evil."

Sarah nodded.  
"Wise words from someone so young." She giggled and brushed Lian's hair with her hand.

"On your past question." Lex looked to the side, "While I am dedicated to the Law first and foremost, I must admit that as a man… she is rather… pleasing to the eyes."

"Remember that she's royalty, perhaps her parents wouldn't want her to court someone of your social standing." Sarah said.

"Again, it is mere infatuation." Lex shook his head, "I am a man of the Law, that is first in my heart and mind."

"You're a great man, Lex."

"You're a good man, Charlie Lex." Zhin's voice sounded from behind the enforcer.

"Regardless, I'm sure Lian's parents would find many great things in you that may make them overlook your status." Sarah nodded.

0000000000

The four continued to travel through a magical forest populated with beautiful trees with leaves of many colors.

"We must be in the Thousand Acre Woods." Sarah spoke as she jumped over a fallen log, "It's a magical forest filled with childhood wonders."

"Do we look like children?" Zhin asked as he looked at the colorful canopy, "I've had enough from that Brightmarsh trip, I almost wanted to cut that stupid vulpin alchemist in two for almost stealing my luggage."

"That was not the same thing." Lian spoke, "Those little dogs were thieves and purloiners. This seems more peaceful and calm." She took a deep breath of the crisp forest air.

The four ventured deeper into the woods, following the barely visible dirt trail that cut through some of the environment.

"The village of Mixiao, part of the Leipori Reservation." Zhin stopped to read a nearby sign that was covered in moss.

"The Leipori, huh?" Lex mumbled as the four ventured into the vicinity of a small town dotted by Hobbit-esque style homes that seemed to grow out of the earth.  
"I've heard of them. Simple creatures, not too much to say about them." He looked around and saw some small rabbit-like beings walk about.  
"Very docile and innocent. They are like children."

Lian saw that the Leipori were looking at them like they were giants among the land.  
"Now these are some cute creatures. Can I buy one and keep it in my garden?" she looked at one.

"They are not pets, Lian." Sarah scolded her, "They are sentient beings." She saw one of the Leipori walk towards them.

"W-w-welcome… Strangers…" the leipori timidly spoke, "A-Are you from the Magistrate?"

"No." Lian responded.

"Well… The Magistrate offered us peace and solitude from others except their official representation." The leipori looked down, "So may we please kindly ask you to leave? There is another trail that leads around through the forest that can take you to wherever you need."

Lex turned to face his allies.  
"I believe it is best. The Magistrate has decreed that these reservations be free of outsiders to keep the Leipori safe. It is in the Law." He informed them.  
"But I am an official of the Magistrate." He turned to the Leipori gathered in front of him, "I am a Sheriff of the Outer Tribunal and I must use the trail that goes through your village to deliver these witnesses in the most expedient manner." He showed what appeared the town leader his badge.

The town leader jumped up to grab the badge and then inspected it, moving his thick glasses.

"We do not need to re-stock supplies or rest, we can move through your village without disturbing anyone." Lian added.

"Actually, we do need your help, Mr. Sheriff sir." A female Leipori came up, "I…"

"Should we tell him?" the town leader asked her, "Do you think they would do something to her…"

"What can I be of service for?" Lex knelt in front of the town leader as to match to their size, "It seems you are troubled."

"We have one among us who we sadly had to… keep away." The town leader nervously said.

"Imprison?"

"N-n-n-no!" the town leader shook his head, making his ears flop around, "It's… just we really did need to separate… her…"

"She has caused nothing but trouble ever since she had that creature with her." Another leipori shook, "She's dangerous!"

"What is going on here?" Lex sternly asked the town leader.

"We need you to take away one of our villagers to a prison." The town leader nervously said, "She is causing too much problems here… She's destroyed food, houses, and even the forest."

"Hmmm…." Lex pondered.

"That should be destruction of private property, no?" Sarah asked the sheriff.

"But its not enough to imprison her…" Lex responded, "At most it's a fine that's four times the price of what was lost."

"Can you just see her?" the town leader asked worriedly, "Please."

"I guess I can give her a stern talking to." Lex sighed and looked at Lian, "Though with the language you gave that elf, I think you may be a better candidate for that." He chuckled and patted the princess' shoulder.

"Please, follow me." The town leader said as he led them and whatever leipori followed to a nearby home that was by a pond and reinforced with various wooden barricades.

"Wow… you'd think this rabbit had rabies…" Zhin commented at the sheer amount of fortifications the house had.

"What exactly has this young leipori done?" Lex asked as he stood by the heavily locked door.

"She said she found this spirit animal… she called it a familiar." One of the leipori women said, "But everytime she points at it, no one sees it. Then she gets upset and bad things happen, some invisible thing just hurts things."

Sarah pondered.

"Alright." Lex nodded and looked at the small door, "What's her name?"

"Moji." The town leader responded, "She's a younger member of our village."

"Very well." Lex said, "Moji! I'm Sheriff Lex from the Outer Tribunal!" he yelled, "You're not in any trouble, I just wish to speak to you! I'm going to open the door and I want you to come out slowly and quietly!"  
The enforcer booted down the door with one simple kick.

He and his four allies looked inside the dark hole that was behind the door. A cool breeze drifted out from within the house.

Lex gasped when he saw a moving figure, but saw that it was just a mouse.

"What is that?" Lian peered in, and a small red figure came out from the shadows.

It was a leipori in a dark blue coat and thick soda bottle glasses covering her eyes. She had a magician's hat of the same color on her head and a leather bandana covering half her face.

"Moji?" Lex asked.

"You wanted to talk to me?" the leipori timidly asked, "Mr. Lawman?"

"Hmmm… She doesn't look like she would hurt a fly." Zhin commented at the leipori's unusually timid personality.  
"Why are we wasting our time with this?"

"I want to know what exactly is going on here." Lex asked the small leipori, "You are being accused of crimes that will cost you quite a sum of money. I want to hear your side of the story." He told her.

"If my people wouldn't believe me, I don't think you humans would…" Moji grumbled and looked down to the ground.

"Please, let her go!" a voice called out from the leipori crowds, and an old male leipori came out.  
"She didn't do anything wrong! Let my daughter go!"

"Dad!" Moji looked at the leipori and tried to run towards him.

"I'm going to need to you stand back!" Lex said and grabbed a hold of Moji, "This is an active investigation!"

"My daughter did nothing wrong!"

"Stand back!" Lex pushed the leipori back, but due to the size difference the action seemed harsher than it should have been.

"Dad! Why you!" Moji growled and bit Lex's arm with her rabbit teeth.

"AGH!" Lex yelled and stepped back, "Assaulting an officer is a serious crime!" he yelled.

"Get away from my dad!" Moji yelled.  
A form started to appear behind her.

The four Paladins gasped in shock as the form revealed itself to be a two headed lizard creature.

"Familiar! Attack!" Moji pointed at Lex, and what was a docile looking lizard transformed its two heads into a stone pillar that struck the enforcer like a bat.

"UWAH!" Lex yelled as he was knocked into a nearby tree.

"What was that!?" the leipori screamed and started to run away.

"Take this!" Moji said and caused her lizard being to turn into a boulder, then made it roll towards Lex like a bowling ball.

"What the-" Lex growled and jumped to the side, avoiding the boulder, "You have just attacked The Law!" he called out his stand.

The lizard being returned back to its original two headed form.

The Law aimed its arm cannon and fired at it.

The lizard, however, turned to sand and avoided the blasts, then shot itself as grainy pellets into Lex's face.

"That must be her stand!" Lian said, "I'll take care of this! Power Khan!"  
"RAH!" Power Khan appeared and loomed over the small leipori.

"Uh oh…." Moji trembled before the powerful stand.  
"Po-Li!"

The lizard creature appeared out from a pile of sand and then transformed into a giant stone golem.

"What the hell!?" Zhin said, "What is up with this stand!?"

"It must be a shapeshifter, but only with stone!" Sarah responded, "I can't melt stone with fire!" she said and called Furious Flame away.

"Stone means nothing to my power." Lian chuckled, "Power Khan!"  
Power Khan raised its fist and punched Po-Li in the chest, cracking the stone in one fell blow.

"AH!" Moji fell back in pain.  
"Po-Li!" she made the stand turn to sand, which made it avoid the other punches thrown by Power Khan.  
"Spear!"  
Po-Li turned into a sharp piece of wood and stabbed Power Khan in the shoulder.

"Agh!" Lian winced and saw a hole appear on her shoulder.

"It can turn into wood too?" Sarah gasped, "Well at least now its vulnerable! Furious Flame!" he angelic stand came out.

"I'll cut it to bits!" Zhin called out Thousand Hands, and the two stands charged at Po-Li.

"Po-Li!" Moji gasped and turned her stand back into a pile of sand.

"Damn it!" Zhin snarled as the sand evaded his blade.

"You won't escape me!" Sarah said and made Furious Flame blast the sand with fire, causing a part of it to turn to glass.

"What!?" Moji felt her right arm become paralyzed, "I can't move my arm!"  
Po-Li reformed and showed that its front right leg had turned to glass, which it then transformed back into sand and then its leg proper.  
"Oh no!" the leipori saw Lex regain his eyesight.

"The Law!" Lex pointed at the leipori and took out his stand, "Open fire!"  
The Law fired a fury of shots at Moji.

Moji transformed Po-Li into a stone wall to absorb the bullets.

"I have you now!" Lian said as she saw Moji was exposed and grabbed her with Power Khan.

"HWEEK!" Moji squeaked as she was crushed by Power Khan's massive hand, but called back Po-Li as a giant metal golem.  
Po-Li swung at Power Khan, hitting it in the face.

"Agh!" Lian fell to the ground after the blow to the face, "Why you-"

"It's metal, let me handle this!" Sarah stepped up, "Incinerate it!" she called out Furious Flame, which called down a beam of fire from the sky.

Moji made Po-Li block it, but the sheer heat was starting to melt its arms.  
"Po-Li! Sand!"  
The stand turned into a pile of sand, but it was turned to glass immediately, paralyzing Moji entirely.

"Pyre Bind!" Sarah said and made Furious Flame shoot out a whip of fire, which wrapped around the emerging Po-Li and bound it together.  
"Now no matter what element you chose, you cannot escape! With metal you will melt, with sand you will turn to glass, with wood you will burn, and with stone… well… Lian is here to break you down."

Lian smirked and looked at the leipori.

"We tried being reasonable with you, Moji." Lex appeared from behind and picked up the paralyzed leipori.

"Please, I didn't mean any harm!" Moji cried, "No one understood me with this familiar… I just didn't like being separated from anyone! I didn't like feeling alone…"

Sarah murmured and looked into Moji's soul, where she saw only sadness.  
"Hmmm…" she said and released Po-Li from its binds.

Po-Li retracted back into Moji.

"Can you see my familiar?" Moji asked them.

"Yes, because it is not one." Sarah walked up to her, "It is called a stand, and you have a very versatile one, I may add."

"Really?"

"Yes… And I know how you must feel when you were the only one with one." Sarah continued, "Since no one except other stand users can see them. You see, I spent years wandering with my own stand, until I met these great people. Now we all found a common purpose in our lives: using our stands to combat evil. I know you had no ill will towards anyone, not even Lex, and I want to ask you… do you want to use that stand, or familiar, of yours to help stop something evil?"

Moji mumbled uneasily.  
"W-W-What is it…?" she stammered.

"It's an evil woman who plans on taking over The World." Sarah informed, "We would be very thankful if you helped us. You can do many great things with that stand of yours, I know it." She smiled softly.

"O-O-Ok!" Moji covered her face bashfully, "I do want to help! I… I…. am just so nervous."

"Don't worry, we can help you overcome that!" Sarah booped her nose, "We are a team! A team you are now a part of, Moji!"

Lex set the leipori down on the ground.

"Welcome, Moji." Zhin nodded and waved his hand at her.  
"Hey there." Lian grinned and patted her head.  
"You are wise to choose the path of good and the Law." Lex gave her a thumbs up, "Sorry about your father."

"N-No problem, Mr. Lawman!" Moji chuckled.

"Call me Lex." Lex told her.

"I'm Lian." Lian added.

"I'm Zhin." Zhin continued.

"And I'm Sarah." Sarah finished as they gathered around her, "My stand is called Furious Flame, Zhin's is called Thousand Hands, Lian's is Power Khan, and Lex's is The Law. What is yours?"

Moji made her stand appeared.  
"I guess with all the silly mayhem it caused…. I think I will call you NOTORIOUS PO I. LI." She grinned and pet her lizard ally, "Or maybe just Po-Li…."

"I like either. Very creative." Lian commented, "Oh, you are just so cute!" she picked up the leipori.

Moji giggled and raised her hands up, finding joy in her new friends.


	14. GOD POSEIDON

**Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins**

 **ARC II-  
SERIS' BLACK PARADE**

 **Chapter 14**

 **"God Poseidon" Makoa**

* * *

Our Five Paladins traversed through a near barren savanna with the sun hovering high over them.

"Man, this sun is really killing me…" Zhin murmured as his black hair radiated heat across his scalp.

Lex looked up to the cloudless sky and grumbled.  
"It is unbearable…"

"With this bad of a heat, you'd think the sun itself was an enemy stand trying to kill us." Sarah joked, though it was not well received.

"I'm feeling tired…" Moji mumbled as her steps startled to falter.

"There there." Lian picked her up, "Here, have some wat-" she shook her canteen.

Empty.

"Uh…." Lian mumbled, causing her allies to turn to face her.

"What's wrong?" Zhin asked.

"I'm out of water." Lian informed as she flipped her canteen, causing only one drop to fall to the ground and evaporate rapidly.

"I hav-" Lex sighed as he felt his canteen was empty as well.

"I'm out too." Zhin added.

"Don't worry everyone, I stored extra water in my pack." Sarah smiled as she set down her bag and opened it up, "It's always good to come prepared."  
She pulled out an extra-large waterskin and presented it to her group.

"A-AAH! A-AAH!" a screech came from the sky, and a large eagle swooped down and took it from her hands.

"Hey!" Sarah yelled.

"That is theft, you mischievous avian! Face the penalty of The Law!" Lex yelled and took out his stand, then fired upon the bird.

"CAW!" the eagle was struck and tumbled down with the water skin.

"Why did it take it!?" Lian asked as the five ran to the crash site.

"Must have thought the skin was a rabbit or something." Zhin responded, "No offense." He looked back at Moji.

"None taken." Moji told him.

"There it is!" Sarah took the lead and ran up to the dead eagle, "Thank the Pyre the waterskin survived!" she cheered and picked it up.

A stream of water immediately poured out.

"Sarah!" Lex pointed at the sight.

"What!?" Sarah gasped, "No! No! No!" she tried to keep the water from coming out, but it was too little too late.  
"OH MY PYRE!" she cried out.

Lian sighed and grabbed the waterskin from the woman's hands, "Those eagle's talons pierced it." She pointed to the holes in the leather.  
"Great, it won't be an assassin to end us, but the forces of nature."

000

A good distance away, in an oasis dotted by palm trees and ancient ruins, sat what appeared to be a large turtle creature meditating on a stone pillar.  
"It seems they are here…." his fin shaped ears twitched towards a spot in the distance, "These must be the trespassers that woman warned me about that have come to defile my sacred ground. If so, then I must stop them…"

The water from the oasis started to churn jumped out into the sand, where it formed the semblance of an anchor and a chain.

"These violators must pay the price for challenging Makoa and defiling my realm."

The anchor went under the sand and slithered off.

000

The Five continued on their way through the savannah.

"Ms. Lian…. I don't feel so good…" Moji panted as she started to falter again, then collapsed into the sand.

"Moji!" the four others turned to see their downed ally.

"Her poor little body couldn't handle the heat!" Sarah cried and ran over to the leipori, "Oh…." She said and lifted her off the sand.

"Here, cover her from the sun!" Zhin took off his outer garment and held it as a makeshift roof over Moji.

"Let's see if I can fan her!" Lian said and pulled out her eastern hand fan, then started to blow wind on the leipori's face.

"We must do something before we all succumb to the sun…" Lex grumbled as he noticed the fatigue on all their faces.

"Or something worse…" Sarah looked up.

A slow growl sounded in the air.  
Two primal sand lions neared them, baring their large fangs and growling menacingly.

"Oh great, we don't have time for this!" Lian looked at the big cats.

"I'll take care of them." Lex said as he took out his stand.

"They must have been stalking us for a good while." Zhin also took out his stand, noting their footprints in the sand.

"RARRR!" one of the desert lions roared and pounded its massive leg on the ground.

"If they make one more move towards, I will fire." Lex informed, trying to intimidate the lions away by standing up straight and making himself appear larger rather than shoot them.

The desert lions continued to walk circles around their targets.

The sweat on the Paladins' faces intensified more with this new threat.

"RARRR!" one of the lions roared and started to charge.

Lex looked at it.

SHLICK! A piercing of flesh sounded in the air as an anchor made of water pierced the side of the lion which charged, killing it instantly.

"What the hell!?" Zhin yelled.

The other lion roared and stomped on the ground.

Suddenly, the same anchor appeared and pierced the lion through the head, then dragged it down into the sand.

"What the hell is going on!?" Lian yelled.

"Ah…. Ah…" Moji panted.

"Here, Moji, I managed to save some of the water from the skin in here." Sarah said and pulled out her canteen, then poured some water on the Leipori's face and mouth.  
"Are you better?"

Moji nodded.

"Good… because we need to get out of here." Sarah set the canteen laying horizontally on the ground and helped Moji up.

However, a stream of water was slowly entering said canteen.

"I can carry you until we get out of this godforsaken desert." Zhin offered.

"It's best that we all drink that water you saved, Sarah." Lex pointed to the canteen, "So we have enough vitality to run from whatever just took down the two beasts." He looked at the sole lion remaining that bled out over the ground.

"Gods know what that thing was." Lian murmured, "But I'll pass it around while you help Moji, Sarah." She went to pick up the canteen.  
"Hey Sarah, how much water did you have in this canteen anyways?" she asked.

"Not a lot, maybe around a quarter, why?" Sarah responded.

Lian mumbled, "It feels a lot more than a qua-" she stopped when she felt the canteen shake.

Out of nowhere, the aquatic anchor shot out from inside the canteen.

"It's an enemy stand!" Lian yelled and narrowly avoided being struck in the head by the anchor.

The watery anchor missed but retreated back under the sand.

"It seems to be made out of water." Lex informed, "But how-" he stopped to see Lian's cheek, which had a large cut across it.  
"Lian, are you alright?" he asked her.

"Whatever that thing was, it's not just regular water…" Lian covered her wound to prevent it from bleeding, "It's sharp… and deadly."

"Where is the stand user?!" Sarah looked around and picked up Moji.

"I'm looking!" Lian called out Power Khan and started to scan the horizon.

"I'm going to try and get a better viewing point from that rock!" Lex pointed to a nearby boulder that stuck out of the sand and started running.

His allies looked around for the stand.

Then, appearing in a wet spot in front of them, the stand shot towards Lex.

"There it is!" Sarah pointed.

"Lex!" Lian called out, "The stand is-"

The anchor shot out of the sand and aimed itself right towards Lex.

"Huh- Ah!" Lex yelled and turned to face his enemy, "THE LAW!" he called out his stand, then made it fire at the enemy.

The bullets, however, shot cleanly through the anchor without any effect and cut The Law across the neck.

"Hwak!" Lex grunted as a stream of blood came out of him.

The anchor returned back into the ground.

"LEX!" Lian screamed in horror.

Sarah stammered and looked at Lex via the Pyre.  
"H-He's still alive!" she informed as she saw Lex's soul was still glowing.

"I'm getting that son of a bitch stand!" Zhin yelled in anger and ran towards Lex's location.

"Zhin, we still don't know what that stand does!" Sarah told him.

Zhin ignored this and continued running.

A wet spot in the sand appeared nearby, then shot out in a line.

"Zhin!"

"Hmph." Zhin stopped and grunted, "THOUSAND HANDS!" he yelled as the anchor shot out of the water and aimed straight for him.  
"ZZZZYYYYAAHHHHH!"  
Thousand Hands cut the air faster than human comprehension, reducing the watery anchor into a bunch of droplets that landed all around him.

"You defeated it!" Sarah cheered, but stopped when she saw the water merely recollected itself and then shot back out as the anchor and chain.

"Damn it!" Zhin said and avoided the attack, then started running towards Lex when it disappeared into the sand.  
"Hah!" he noticed the anchor shot back out and jumped over it, "Hmmm…" he started to run away from Lex.

The wet trail followed behind him.

"Hut!" Zhin ducked to avoid the anchor that came out, "Sarah, I need a favor!" he said.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"Get your stand to lift me into the air." Zhin responded as he once again ran towards Lex, "Argh! Counter!" he called out his stand and sent the anchor back into the sand.

"What are you planning to do?" Lian asked.

"I have a suspicion as to how this stand operates." Zhin responded, "Do it now!"

Sarah nodded and called out Furious Flame, which flew towards Zhin and picked him up from the ground.

Zhin looked down and grabbed his canteen from his waistband, then threw it into the sand in a manner that it tumbled a short distance.

The anchor suddenly shot out of the sands and pierced the canteen, then dragged it under.

"Alright, call back your stand." Zhin said, "I've seen enough."

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked worriedly as she started to walk towards him.

"Don't move-"

The anchor shot out and aimed itself right at Sarah.

"AH!" The defenseless woman screamed and threw Moji away, then received a terrible gash to her eyes that sent her falling to the ground.

"Oof!" Zhin fell to the ground when Sarah's stand retracted.  
"DAMN IT!" he narrowly avoided the anchor that came for him, only receiving a cut on his upper arm.

"What happened?!" Lian yelled.

"That stand can sense movement on the ground!" Zhin told her, "That's how it is finding out our locations! Whoever is controlling it cannot see us directly!"

"Ah.. Ah…." Sarah moaned as the cleansing fires of the Pyre healed her eyes, "Ow…." She stood up.

"Sarah!" Lian saw the anchor shoot out, "Power Khan!"  
Power Khan appeared and punched the anchor, causing it to spread out and fail to hit its target.

"What did you say the stand does?" Sarah asked as she wiped the sweat off her brow.

"It senses your through your movements on the ground." Zhin repeated, "Try not to move at all… Though it may already know our locations…" he murmured.

000

"There's no use standing still, trespassers…" Makoa mumbled, "I know you will not move… Yet I remember each and everyone of your places. Now you will face against ancient wisdom and power for your blasphemy."

000

"It's probably biding its time… looking for an opportunity to take us all out in as few moves as possible." Zhin murmured as he saw Lex still laying there on the sand.

"Just like in chess…" Lian mumbled and also looked at Lex.

"He still lives, Lian." Sarah informed as they all stood still.

"Uh…." Moji groaned as she regained consciousness, "what… Is going on?" she held her head.

"Moji! Don't move!" Sarah told the leipori, "You will be in serious danger if you do!"

Moji saw the frightened faces of her allies and a deep fear came upon her.  
"W-w-what is happening!?"

"Stay calm Moji!" Lian told her, "We cannot be freaking out right now!"

"I have a plan to get rid of the stand." Sarah said, "If it is water… well…" she called out Furious Flame, "I'll just vaporize it…" she said, "but I have to go heal Lex first!" she added and was picked up by her stand.

Sarah made her way over to Lex and hovered over him. "Lex, be healed." she spread Pyre energy across his neck, closing the wound and stopping the blood.

"Ugh…" Lex groaned.

"Don't move." Sarah told him, but then felt a sharp pain across her side.

The anchor had shot out and pierced both her side and her stand's right wing.

000

"The woman told me all about you. Your flight will not hinder me." Makoa mumbled.

000

"Sarah!" Moji screamed and called out her stand, then jumped on top of it and scampered away.

"Moji!" Lian yelled, then saw the anchor turn and head for her.

"I want to go back home!" Moji cried and scampered on her stand.

"She's going to get herself killed!" Zhin yelled as he saw the anchor disappear, "It's only a matter of time bef- AGHH!" the anchor suddenly appeared and struck him on his left leg.

"That bastard! He faked out!" Lex yelled as he stood up holding Sarah in his arms, then jumped on the boulder he was originally aiming for.

Zhin groaned and fell to the ground, his ankle and heel gashed.

Lian snarled and started running towards Moji.

000

"Those footsteps… they're delicate and light… more than the average human." Makoa meditated deeply as his ears twitched.  
"It must be a human woman… Tall, thin…. She's running towards the even lighter footsteps… perhaps a creature… ah I know… It's one of the Leipori from the reservation." He continued, "That will be her undoing chasing an innocent creature."

000

"What are you doing, Lian!?" Zhin yelled, "You're going to attract the stand!"

"Moji! You're going to get yourself killed!" Lian called out.

"I don't want to die!" Moji cried.

The anchor continued slithering under the soil, leaving a wet trail of sand as it did so.

"I want to go back to my dad!" Moji continued.

"You promised to stick together!" Lian said, then used Power Khan to propel herself forward, "If you don't! You're a traitor!" she landed right on top of Moji.

"AYYY!" Moji squeaked as she was driven into the sand by Lian, who then picked her up.

"There's a time to be afraid! Now is not one of them Moji!" Lian yelled at her face, "There are times fear will lead to your death! Not only yours, but those of others! We all have to make a stand!" she said, then saw the anchor shoot out of the ground.

"AHHH!" Moji screamed.

"It's now or never Moji!" Lian did nothing as it shot straight for them.  
"Will you cower in fear and die, or will you do something!?"

Moji panicked and glared at the enemy stand.

Lian growled and glared at it with not a hint of fear, something that Moji saw.

"NAHHHH!" Moji yelled and caused Po-Li to appear and transform into a wall of rock.

The anchor crashed through the rock and pierced through it partially.

Lian gasped as the anchor struggled to continue moving forward through the stone.

"AHHH!" Moji cried in pain and bled a little from the mouth as this occurred.

"Alright!" Lian said and used Power Khan to climb over the wall, "Here we go!" she used it again to leap high into the air.

Moji called out her stand and made it into sand the blew up to reunite with them.

"Good." Lian told her, "Now we are falling. I know your stand can make itself into wood. What are you going to do now, Moji?"

Moji trembled when she saw how high they were but gulped in some courage.  
"Po-Li!" she called out her stand, then shapeshifted it into a wooden pair of aeroplane wings that strapped on to Lian's back with wood fiber straps.

Lian felt as she started to glide in the air.  
"Good, know there's a strong vantage point." She said and started to look around, then spotted the oasis in the distance with Power Khan's eyesight.

0000

"Where did they go?" Makoa grumbled as he tried to listen for any noise on the ground.

000

"Keep it steady, Moji!" Lian said as the glider started to teeter, then started to lose altitude.  
"Moji!"

"It's only a glider! It can't fly!" Moji responded.

Lian stopped when she knew the leipori was correct and decided to not push her buttons any longer.  
"Hah… I don't want to give away our plan, I saw what appeared to be the stand user in that Oasis. It had to be, he was the only thing in sight."  
Lian noticed her body was starting to get lower and lower.  
"I'm going to hit the sand soon, I don't want to do this, but." She curled up her leg, "Power Khan!"

Power Khan's leg appeared within hers and together they kicked the ground, sending them all upwards into the sky.

000

"There they are and headed directly for me!" Makoa exclaimed, "Could one of them have harnessed the power of flight?" he said, "Regardless… now that I know they are avoiding the sky through the air in a fashion more sophisticated than that other woman, it will be easier to take them down." He meditated deeper.

000

Lian saw Makoa's stand appear out from under the sand and start shooting itself randomly into the air.  
"It still can't see us." She mumbled and sighed in relief.

"Thank heavens." Moji sighed as well.

"You're doing great, Moji." Lian told her, then saw the enemy stand appear again and shoot into the air, "Look at it, it still doesn't know where we are!" she chuckled, "And we're heading straight for him, that old foolish turtle."

The two shared a small laugh.

"It'll be over so-" she stopped when she felt something on her cheek.  
Water.  
"What the?" Lian saw small water droplets all over the glider and their bodies.

000

"Hmmm… Foolish human." Makoa mumbled, "With the sound of the rain I am making, I can see you even in the air."

000

"It's using false rain to detect us!" Lian gasped as she saw the stand's wet trail line up perfectly with their trajectory.

"What?!" Moji started to panic.

The enemy stand shot out and nearly hit them both.

"AH!" Moji shrieked and lost control of her stand, causing it to plummet.

"Get a hold of yourself, Moji!" Lian said as the neared the desert.

The watery anchor stand continued chasing after them.

"I want out of here!"! Moji cried out as her stand started to disintegrate into sand.

"Moji!" Lian gasped as her feet were now a few meters off the ground, "I told you to stop being so damn afraid!" she removed herself from the crumbling glider and grabbed hold of Moji.  
"This is to teach you that you have to make choices in face of your fears!"

"AHHH!" Moji screamed as Power Khan's arm surrounded her.

"I have you now!" Makoa said as he registered Lian's landing on the sand, then lined up his stand to execute her

"HRAHHH!" Power Khan threw Moji straight towards Makoa.

"What did she throw!?" the turtle being opened his eyes and saw Moji rocketing straight at him, "She threw the Leipori!?"

"Yes! And now you are going to make a choice!" Lian yelled at him, "Kill me or save yourself!"

Moji heard Lian's confident and fearless tone and once again gulped courage.  
"Po-Li!" she called out her stand, which surrounded itself and its owner in stone, forming a ball.

"Hrrrr…." Makoa growled, "In my old age, I can't dodge that! It's coming in too fast!"

Lian turned back to see the stand had avoided her and blasted over to Moji.

"Stop this now! Creature!" Makoa yelled as the boulder came towards him, "You are done!"  
His stand shot out of the sand and struck the boulder, causing it to chip away and land nearby.

"Owie…" Moji groaned as her head spun when she landed.

Makoa grunted.  
"Now to the other land-dweller…" he turned to face where Lian was originally standing, then saw she was no longer there.  
"She must have run away… using this poor creature as a sacrifice for her cowardly escape." He closed his eyes and started to mediate, trying his best to locate the woman's footsteps.  
But there were none.  
"Hmmm?" he focused.  
Nothing.  
"Where did she go?" he opened his eyes to see if he could spot her, then heard the sand shift behind him.

Lian was standing there.

"Hmmm… I made a mistake assuming your cowardice." Makoa spoke, "But over millennia, I have only seen that humans have presented themselves as nothing more than thieves, snakes, and murderers of both themselves and this planet. I must commend you for challenging me, Makoa…"  
A puddle started to form around the turtle.  
"Humans have always run in fear from me. They must have known that my sheer power would break their weak bones asunder. Thus, they knew well not to desecrate the seas and the rivers, as well as all of nature and its creatures, when I was around."

"Your ancient ways and assumptions have brought you to this position." Lian told him as she straightened her stance.

"Do not dare try to strike me, as it will be your end." Makoa made the puddle around him churn.

"You have tried to kill my friends, and I will not tolerate that, assassin." Lian said and glared at his shell.

Makoa breathed in.

Silence.

Lian clenched her jaw.

Silence.

A soft wind blew across the sand.

Silence.

Makoa breathed in one more time.

The water anchor shot out from the puddle.  
Power Khan appeared and rapidly punched Makoa across the face, knocking the titanic tortoise to the ground and disabling his stand.

"AGHH!" Makoa groaned and spat out green blood.

"Looks like your bones are the weak ones, old turtle." Lian grunted and walked over to her enemy.

"Unbelievable…" Makoa mumbled.

"Relax, you're not going to die." Lian said, "I want to know something. Who are you and why did you attack us?"

"My name is Makoa. I am the guardian of the seas and the rivers…"

"Too far for that to be true." Lian chuckled.

"What you are standing on now was once a deep sea, yet man came long and diverted all the waters to their cities and farms." Makoa murmured, "This place holds a special temple dedicated to all the Ocean's creatures… I was defending it from you, as I have done against many foes, with my stand POSEIDON'S SEIZE... A woman came to me telling me of your trespass."

"How did the woman look like?" Lian asked.

"I did not see her well in the dark of the night… but…. She was pale… deathly pale." Makoa murmured and went unconscious.

"We have a motive, and I can say for a fact I know who that woman was." Lian mumbled and looked at Makoa's body, "Too bad you went on false information."

"Now I rest…" Makoa said lowly, and a light rain came over the savanna.


	15. GODDESS SKAADI

**Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 15**

 **"Goddess Skaadi" Evie**

* * *

The five finally reached a small town in the middle of an open plain, parched and exhausted from their gruesome journey through the desert savannah.

"Finally, civilization." Zhin spoke as they entered the fringes of the town.

"We desperately need to restock on our supplies." Sarah looked inside her travel bag and saw that it was near empty, "All we have is this loaf of bread… which is now dry and crumbly."  
The bread disintegrated in her hand.

"We should make haste to re-stock, then." Lex spoke, "And perhaps get needed rest." He saw that Lian's feet were bleeding from the strain put on them by her high heels.  
"Are you alright?"

"I've been to wars in these boots, this is nothing." Lian scoffed as she withstood the pain, "Now where is the inn here?"

"Over there!" Moji said as she pointed to her left but gave her allies a few seconds to turn and look down at her.  
"There's the inn!"

"How do you even know how an inn looks like?" Zhin chuckled.

"It says Inn on the front sign." Moji responded and pointed to the large black letters on a white board.

"That backfired." Sarah smirked and elbowed Zhin's flank.

000000000

Sarah yawned as she set herself over the bed in their room.  
"Oh… This is sure beats sand." She said and rolled in over in absolute bliss, "I've been dying to finally sleep on a proper bed."

Lian smiled as she took off her boots, then sighed when she saw the dried blood that stained her heels.

"Oh no…." Moji whimpered when she saw the sight, "Lian, will you be ok?"

"I'll be fine." Lian said and set her boots to the side.

Zhin and Lex came out of the bathroom at that time. The swordsman's hair was drenched with water and his face was also wet while the enforcer held a bronze bowl filled with water in his hands and a towel hanging over his shoulder.

"Lian." Lex walked up to the princess and set down the bowl next to her feet, then handed her the towel.

"And I here I thought you were going to do it for me." Lian murmured, but then let out a smile, "I jest. Thank you, Lex."

Zhin let out a huff of air as he fell on the bed by Sarah's curled legs.  
"Thank heavens we made it through everything." He said and took a drink from his canteen.

Moji jumped on the bed and sat by Sarah's feet.

"We made it because of our dedication to our team." Lex spoke, "We all stood by each other even in the face of clear and present danger… and in the face of seeing our friends wounded to a great degree." He held his neck.

Sarah held her side.

Zhin looked at his ankle.

"We stick together, always." Lian nodded and looked at Moji, "Even if we fear, we must put our trust in ourselves or our friends."

Moji nodded.  
"Thank you, Lian." She said.

"Remember, even if you are afraid." Lex put his hand over Moji's shoulders, "You can still find it within yourself to succeed."

"We're here to help each other, Moji." Sarah added, "And we expect the same from you. We are a team, and we look out for each other."

"I'm just here for the money." Zhin joked, only to get smacked in the head by Sarah.  
"Alright alright, we're all friends here, Moji, and together we are strong."

Moji had a look of determination on her face.  
"I can do it!" she jumped up with her fist raised.

Lian smiled and stood up, completely clean of any blood, "I am starving." She heard her stomach rumble.

"Perhaps we can go downstairs and eat?" Lex asked, "If anyone else wants to join, please let me know."

"Ooh! I do!" Moji raised her small paw.

"Now now Moji." Sarah chuckled, "I have some stuff for you." She opened her knapsack and pulled out some carrots, "We need to save our coins."

Moji sighed and grabbed the carrots.

"Zhin, Sarah?" Lex asked the others.

"I'll be fine with what I have." Sarah responded, "Plus, I'm too tired to be hungry anyways."

Lex nodded and looked at Lian, who was getting impatient.  
"Zhin?"

"I'll be down there in a while… and I do mean a while." Zhin smirked, "Enough to give you guys some private time."

"Let's go." Lian groaned as she grabbed Lex by the arm and stepped out the door, nearly slamming it as the two came out.

"I was just being courteous." Lex mumbled as the two walked down the hallway.

Lian sighed and shifted her tiara side to side, "What a pain…" she mumbled.

"I'm only thinking of getting some beef jerky." Lex informed her, "So it may cause our lunch to be brief."

"Well I'm getting a full course meal, so I expect you to use that courtesy you had back there for me." Lian crossed her arms, "A gentleman would not leave a woman, especially a princess, eating alone."

Lex sighed as the two made it down the steps and entered the main lobby.  
"Hmmm… I do not think this inn has an eatery." He said as he saw no signs of a kitchen.

"No sir." A nearby hostess responded as she mopped the floor, "My husband, the innkeeper, is brother to the restaurant owner next door. You can get a discount if you state you are from the inn and show your key." She kindly informed.

"At least it's next door." Lian shrugged her shoulders as she made her way to the front door, "You have the keys, right?" she asked Lex.

"I'm always five steps ahead." Lex responded as he held up a key with a special engraving on its head, "Have more faith in me, princess."

Lian chuckled as the two walked down the door, then saw a man running away with a wooden box.

"STOP! THIEF!" another man yelled as he pointed at the runner.

Lex's ears perked up.

"You won't get away with this!" the man continued and shook his fist, then turned to see Lex standing there, "You! Aren't you going to do something about this!?"

Lex ran over to the man.  
"What is going on here?" he asked.

"That man stole a locket I had at my stand!" the man said, revealing himself to be a merchant, "It's absolutely priceless! There's nothing like it! Go get him!"

Lex turned to see the thief continue sprinting down the road.  
"Stop! In the name of the Law!" he called out and started to chase after him.

Zhin came out of the inn and stumbled into Lian.  
"Hey, Sarah wants to know where the key to the inn we-" he stopped when he saw Lex sprinting off, "What's going on?"

"Robbery." Lian sighed and shook her head.

"Looks like your date is ruined." Zhin chuckled, "But seriously, do you think we should help him?"

"I don't see why not, maybe I can have lunch with him faster." Lian nodded and the two ran off to catch up to Lex.

Lex had turned a corner to follow the thief, who was now clambering up a stone wall to enter a private property.  
"I said stop!" he yelled to the thief and nearly caught his foot before it fell over the wall, "Hrrr." He growled and used his stand to jump over the wall in one leap.

However, when he landed, he found himself cornered by a group of thieves wielding weapons of all types.

"Looks like kitty is stuck in a corner." The thief he was chasing chuckled as he and his allies aimed their weapons at him.

Lex growled and called out his stand, but right when he was about to do something, Power Khan's fist busted through the stone wall behind him and them burst through entirely.

"What the hell!?" the thieves yelled as Lian and Zhin came in.

"Well well well…" Lian clenched her fists, "I guess I gave you some time to set up." She saw that Lex's The Law had manifested itself into ten copies, one for each thief.

"Thank you." Lex said, but then saw the thief he was chasing hand the box over to another thief, who ran off.  
"Hey!"

"Go to hell, copper!" the thieves yelled and fired their weapons.

"RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH!" Power Khan appeared and started catching and throwing away all the bullets it could.

"ZYAHHH!" Zhin called out Thousand Hands to help Lian out and continued cutting bullets, arrows, and bolts.

"10 Officer Police Shootout!" Lex yelled and caused his stand and its copies to punch and kick all the thieves, disabling them.  
"Zhin! Get the one that got away!" he pointed at the thief that clambered over the wall.

"Got it!" Zhin said as he ran through the fallen thieves to chase after the escapee, "You won't get away from me that easily!" he expertly climbed over the wall and saw the thief bust through a hedge.  
"Hmph, feeble mistake!" he ran, called out Thousand Hands, and cut the hedge to pieces.

The swordsman stopped when he saw the thief hold a young woman in a chokehold and held what appeared to be a silver star-shaped talisman with a blue crystal in it that had blue leather straps studded with diamonds.

The thief was standing on a bridge with a small river underneath and holding the talisman over the edge.

"Help!" the woman cried out to the civilians nearby.

"One more step and I'll drop it in the water!" the thief yelled.

The merchant appeared, having followed the yells of the thief.  
"Oh no!" he gasped and looked at Zhin, who seemed to be the only one intent on doing anything.  
"We have to stop him!" he said and pulled out a short sword from his garments.

"I can see why, that looks pretty expensive." Zhin told the man as he looked at the necklace.

"Yes, it was so beautiful I paid a fortune for it." The merchant said, "A beautiful pale woman came to me as I was packing up for the night and gave me such a great deal…"

"Hmmm." Zhin mumbled, "Can I see your sword?" he asked.

The merchant grumbled but handed it regardless.

Zhin chuckled and passed the sword to Thousand Hands.  
"Don't worry, I'll get it for you!" he said and made Thousand Hands throw the sword at the thief.

"AH!" the thief gasped as the sword cut the wrist that was holding the talisman, making him lose grip of it.

"No!" the merchant yelled and sped off to catch it while it was still in the air, "HA!" he said and raised his hands.

The talisman appeared to steer itself towards the thief's head and landed in a position where it placed itself upon the man.

The thief sighed in relief as the necklace hung around his neck.  
"Take this you old fool!" he punched the merchant, knocking him out, "And I'm going to kill you!" he yelled and charged towards Zhin.

"You're the fool!" Zhin laughed and called out Thousand Hands.

However, he saw an icy figure appear from the thief's back.

"What!?" Zhin gasped as the figure retracted.

The thief pounced and made claws of ice appear on his hands.

"Agh!" Zhin avoided the attack but was then struck when the thief shot an icicle out of his mouth.  
"Argh!" he groaned as the wound on his shoulder started to bleed.

"I'll Killl you! HWAK!" the thief gagged when Thousand Hand's blade had gone through his mouth.

The icy figure appeared out from him and snarled.  
It appeared to be a feminine figure made of ice shards wearing a bright blue armor.

The necklace suddenly came off the man and fell to the ground nearby.

Zhin saw as the necklace tumbled across the stone streets, then recalled Thousand Hands.  
"Was that an enemy fighting spirit?" he asked himself.

"Hurrr…." The merchant groaned as he woke up, helped by the young woman the thief had placed in a choke hold minutes ago.  
"Ugh." He sat up and saw the necklace on the ground.

Zhin picked it up and looked at it.  
"Something is off..."

"Not it is not!" the merchant growled, "This is the most beautiful piece of jewelry I've ever seen!" he sighed and rubbed the glowing blue crystal, then turned to the woman who had helped him.  
"Miss, would you be interested in this necklace? This beautiful necklace will help your face shine." He walked towards her.

"Uh…" the woman, a short girl with pigtails, mumbled.

"What is your name, miss?" the merchant asked.

"Uh… Evie?" the young woman responded.

"Look how beautiful you'll look, Evie." The merchant said and placed the necklace on her neck.

"Wait- No!" Zhin called out, but too late.

An icicle had already stabbed the merchant in the stomach, causing him to groan and fall to the ground in pain and blood.

"Finally, a good host." Evie spoke in a cackled tone, "Now… I will remove those who dare defy Lady Seris." She walked towards Zhin as ice blades formed in her hands.

"What is your name? I sense you are not of the girl." Zhin called out Thousand Hands.

"Hahahahahaha!" Evie cackled, "You are a perceptive one, Oriental." She pointed at him with one of the blades.  
"Very well. I am the stand SKAADI'S SERVICE." She said.

"You must be a part of that cursed talisman." Zhin grumbled as he looked at the necklace on the young woman's face.

"Good eye." Evie mumbled as her once brown hair started to turn a bright blue, "Too bad I'll be gouging them out!" she charged with her ice blades and aimed for his head.

"ZYAH!" Zhin blocked the attacks with his stand.

"We'll see whose swords are the fastest!" Evie cackled and continued her relentless assault with her ice blades.

"Very well! You wish to see speed!" Zhin jumped back, "Thousand Hands, remove your weighted clothing!"

Thousand Hands stepped back and removed the golden armor from its body.

"What is this?" Evie growled, "Nevertheless, you will die!" she continued her attack.

Thousand Hands quickly parried all her attacks and cut her in the upper arm, causing the woman to fall back in pain.

"What speed…" Evie's deeper voice appeared, "It seems I will not win with swordsmanship alone…" the woman opened up her mouth and shot out an icicle.

"Counter!" Zhin yelled and Thousand Hands sent the icicle back.

Evie rolled back to avoid it but was then stabbed by Thousand Hands in the hand, crushing one of the ice blades.  
"HAH!" she breathed in an shot out a stream of snow and ice from her mouth.

"I- I can't move!" Zhin yelled as he saw Thousand Hand's leg was frozen solid to the ground.

"Die!" Evie screeched and raised her other ice blade.

Thousand Hands parried all the incoming blows despite its immobility.

"Even in this, I do not give up!" Zhin yelled and knocked Evie away, then made his stand strike the ice that held it down and freed itself.  
"This ice must be part of its stand… And if it blows it like a blizzard, I cannot stop it." He called back his Thousand Hands to a more advantageous position.  
"I must be caref-"

"GRAH!" Evie made the water of the river under the bridge freeze and then shot out thousands of icicles from it.

Thousand Hands raised its sword and cut all the icicles to fragments.

"Fool!" Evie yelled and made all those fragments into snow and ice, then circled the two with it.  
"I will freeze you to death!"

Zhin felt the temperature around him plummet, then felt both he and his stand freeze in place.

"AURORA BEAM!" Evie yelled and blasted a beam of absolute zero cold from her hand, which when it struck, froze Zhin entirely.  
"Hahahahahahahaa!" she cackled and walked over to him.

"Stop right there, criminal!" three enforcers appeared and pulled out their magnums.

"Fools!" Evie yelled and snapped her fingers, then caused the ice from the frozen river to manifest itself as a blizzard which swooped down and froze them in place.  
"Now it is time to end you!" she stood in front of Zhin and raised her ice blade, "You have been a good fight. You even warmed up my cold muscles… But this is where it ends, you insolent bast-"

"RAH!" a fist came out and struck the woman in the side, sending her crashing into a fruit cart.

Lian shifted her tiara side to side and sighed, "What a pain…." She looked at the frozen Zhin, "I always have to come rescue you, huh?" she said and made Power Khan appear and punch the ice that surrounded her ally.

Zhin broke free from the ice, as did the enforcers Lian liberated soon after, but they were all blacked out.

"Who is this!?" Evie stood up and glared at Lian.

"I take it you're the enemy stand user." Lian glared at her, "And you must have the ability to control ice."

"I am Skaadi's Service." Evie spoke, "I am an ancient and invincible stand forged by the dwarves of Mt. Fulgor's Keep." She made a pose, "Have some respect, you wench."

"I am a princess… hold your tongue, commoner!" Lian snarled and walked up to her, "Or I may have to knock you out cold."

"I appreciate the pun, but it will not save you!" Evie shrieked and pounced with two ice blades.

"RAH!" Power Khan appeared and punched her in the jaw faster than she could react.

"AGHHH!" Evie fell back with a thud, "I will end you!" she called out another blizzard that surrounded her enemy.

"Hmph… Just because I don't wear much clothing doesn't mean I am fazed by the cold." Lian grumbled, then caused Power Khan to extend its arms and spin around.

"What?!" Evie said as the stand made a tornado that forced her blizzard to vacate the area and melt in the upper air harmlessly.  
"It seems I have to take matters into my own hands." She extended her arm, "Aurora Beam!" she shot out her blast.

Lian gasped and called down Power Khan to punch it away, but the stand froze on impact, causing her to become immobile.  
"ERGH!" she groaned.

"It is now over!" Evie slid on ice she had formed on ground and moved behind her.  
"Heh… Nothing personnel, kid." She raised an ice blade over the princess's shoulder.

"GRAH!" Power Khan roared and broke free of its bonds.

"WHAT!?" Evie gasped, "It was completely frozen!"

"Power can break through anything." Lian murmured.

"RAH!" Power Khan swooped down and punched Evie in the gut, then across the face so hard that it caused the talisman to fly off her.

Evie immediately regressed back to her normal appearance and fell to the ground.

"Huh?" Lian looked at the woman with confusion.

"Ergh…." Zhin woke up and held his head, "Lian!" he exclaimed, then looked at Evie, "You defeated her! Quick, find that necklace and destroy it!" he looked around.

"What are you talking about?" Lian said and spotted the necklace in a pile of cabbages nearby using Power Khan's vision.

"The enemy stand is in that necklace." Zhin responded, "It is the necklace! Whenever someone puts it one, they get possessed by it."

Lian nodded in understanding and picked up the necklace, then raised Power Khan's fist at it.

"Hold on there!" an enforcer appeared and snatched the talisman from Lian's hand, "This is not your property!" he scolded her.

"You need to give that back!" Zhin yelled and tackled the lawman.

"Get off of me!" the enforcer yelled, and the two entered a scuffle.

"Give me that necklace!" Zhin punched the officer in the face and reached for the necklace.

"Quick, Zhin!" Lian extended her hand as she looked at the two fight, "Hand it to me!"

"Give-" Zhin gasped when the necklace looped its leather strap around and landed directly on his shoulders.

"Z-Zhin…" Lian stammered as an icicle appeared through the enforcer's head.

Zhin chuckled lowly as he stood up, his once black hair turning into a dark shade of blue.

"Zhin! Fight it!" Lian said as ice started to form around the swordsman's hands.

"It's too late… No one can fight Skaadi's Service." Zhin spoke and glared at her as the ice disappeared from his hands.  
However, his stand appeared and had its arms covered in ice.

"Zhin! Stop this!" Lian yelled as she took out Power Khan.

"Hahahaahahaa!" Zhin cackled, "DIE!" he yelled.  
Thousand Hands formed an ice blade around its left hand, and combined with the sword on its right, charged with relentless fury.

Lian made Power Khan block all the blows with its fists.  
"Zhin, you imbecile!" she yelled as her stand parried the two blades, "You want to fight!? Well then, let's see who truly is the fastest!"

"RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH!" Power Khan yelled as it punched with fury.

"ZYAHH!" Thousand Hands returned with two swords to meet each fist perfectly.

"This stand… it's so nimble, so quick!" Zhin chuckled, "Those other two were worthless as they were mere people! But you! Oh this stand! To have it in my power! I will slay all of you and bring honor to Seris!"

Lian growled and managed to sneak a punch into Zhin's flank.

"Hrrr… Cheap trick." Zhin growled and regained his composure, "But can you react to this!?" he said and struck back faster than ever before.

"Hrrr…" Lian panted, "Whatever got to his head must be learning how to use his stand more and more effectively…" she said.

"RAH!" Power Khan tried to catch one of the swords but missed.

"Too slow!" Zhin yelled and made his stand sprint to the side, but to mere observation it appeared like it had warped there.

Lian grunted and moved Power Khan too.

"RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH!" the stand punched.

"ZYAHHHH!" its enemy cut and stabbed.

The two went at it with such speed that it started to make drafts of wind shoot out which were noticeable to the trembling civilians nearby.

"The more I'm in this fool, the more power I get from the knowledge!" Zhin laughed as he parried a punch.  
"It is only a matter of time before I kill you!"

Lian growled.  
"Power Khan!" she yelled.

"RAH!" Power Khan caught one of the blades, but had its hand cut in the process, momentarily stunning Lian.

"I have you now!" Zhin laughed and made Thousand Hands stab Lian in the stomach with its ice blade.

"Hwah…" Lian gasped when she felt the blade enter her.

"As I speak, this ice blade is slowly freezing your innards." Zhin murmured evilly, "So even if you pull it out through some miraculous reason, you will still die."

Lian panted as she felt the zero cold freeze her insides.

"It seems that I am the master." Zhin taunted and saw Power Khan retreat back into Lian's body, "Now to end this blight on Lady Seris' plans!" he raised Thousand Hand's blade into the sky.

Lian groaned and then kissed Zhin, forcing her body to be further pierced by the blade.

A bit of Zhin's humanity came out from the possession, causing both him and his stand to become stunned for a few seconds before Skaadi's Service re-took control.  
"Hrah!" he yelled, "How dare you do th-" the enemy stand stopped speaking.

Lian fell back to the ground, holding the necklace in her hand.  
"Ha… Ha…. Now… you're through…" she growled.

Power Khan came out and punched the talisman so hard that it shattered into pieces.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Skaadi's Service gave out one last shriek before it vanished into the nothingness.

Lian slowly stood up and then walked over to Zhin, who was also recuperating from the possession.

"Lian?" Zhin looked up to see her, then saw the black blood pouring from her frostbitten wound.  
"Lian!"

Zhin's yells were the last thing she heard before blacking out.


	16. GODDESS HERA

**Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 16**

 **"Goddess Hera" Cassie**

* * *

Lex sighed as he ran his hand across Lian's forehead.

The princess breathed slowly and lowly as she lay on the inn bed. Her face was covered in sweat and her general demeanor displayed discomfort.

"She has been cleansed by the Pyre." Sarah informed as she pointed to where the wound was, "However, she will still need time to rest."

"I'm sorry, Lian, I don't know what came over me." Zhin mumbled.

"It was not your fault." Lex told him, "That enemy stand could control anyone it had the misfortune of setting itself upon." He patted his back.

Zhin nodded.

"I'm fine…" Lian groaned, "we need to keep moving."

"No, Lian, you need to rest." Sarah scolded her.

"You're not my mother." Lian growled and crossed her arms.

Sarah sighed and looked at Lex.

"Stop acting like a child, Lian." Lex responded and pointed at her, "You will get some rest before we depart."

"I'm fine!" Lian sat up and pushed her caretakers aside, "See?" she stood up and walked around.

Sarah breathed in deeply and used the Pyre to look into her soul.  
"Wow… What amazing vitality." She murmured.

"What do you mean by that?" Moji asked.

"She's not hiding any pain. She's very well, actually." Sarah informed, "I don't see anything wrong with her."

"Now I still haven't eaten my lunch." Lian told Lex, "And I know you were going to take me before our little misadventure."

Lex gave out a deep sigh.  
"Very well, I trust Sarah's word that you are well." He walked up to her, "Let us go, and I will get you what you want."

"Yes!" Lian chuckled.

Zhin sighed and shook his head, "What are we going to do with those two?" he asked as the two left the room.

"What can we do?" Sarah shrugged her shoulders, "At least Lex is a nice man."

"What are you two talking about?" Moji asked.

"Uh…." Zhin looked down, "You'll know when you grow up. That is if you aren't already…" he looked at the leipori.

00000000000

Lex and Lian strolled down the town streets as they ate.  
Lex was eating some beef jerky while Lian bit on a sugar cane.

"Mmm… I absolutely adore these." Lian said as she licked her lips to pick up the wet juices of the cane, "My father brought them to me when I was young. He had conquered the lands of some jungle savages and this is what they gave him as tribute. Ever since then, I loved these succulent plants."

"Interesting." Lex noted as he ate a piece of beef jerky, "I always have to eat these. It's the only meat that doesn't perish on long journeys."

"How long have you been a Lawman, Lex?" Lian asked as she maneuvered around an old woman.

"10 seasons."

"That's a very long time." Lian responded.

"How long have you been a princess?" Lex spoke, but then noticed how foolish his question sounded.

"Well ever since I was born, so…. 24 seasons?" Lian pondered, "But what an odd question to ask, even for you, detective."

Lex sighed and then saw a small wooded area ahead.  
"Hmmm? What is this?" he asked as he saw a group of people huddled around a fence.

The two walked to where the people were huddled and saw that it was the wooded area he saw.

"Wow! Here it comes!" one of the people at the fence called out and pointed to something behind the trees.

A large wooly elephant appeared and grabbed a melon from the ground and ate it.

"What kind of place is this?" Lian asked as she walked up to the fence.

"This is the Mayor's Mansion." A local told the princess, "He was an extremely wealthy man, so he has a menagerie of exotic animals on his property. His daughter continues running his estate."

Lex saw the large manor a good distance away.  
"Neckras." He pointed to a long-necked animal similar to a giraffe appear to their left.

"What a sight." Lian said in wonder, "Perhaps I can bring some animals like this to my palace garden." She pondered.

"They look like they need huge tracts of land." Lex informed as he saw the size of the property.

"Castle Aico is much larger than this." Lian scoffed, then saw a large armadillo creature eat some fruits in front of them.  
"I'm sure we can hold something more than-" she stopped when she saw a figure walk in front of them.

It was a large long-necked dinosaur, who passed by to eat some star fruit on a tree.

"Wow." Lian's eyes opened.

"This must have been a very wealthy man." Lex commented, "He has creatures from the Ancient Lands."

"He was a very wealthy man." The local from before added as she leaned on a nearby lightpole, "Though he never let that get to his head. He loved the town and its people very much, he even paid for a forest to be preserved!" she pointed to the distance, where another patch of woods lay.  
"Don't worry, there are no critters there." She brushed back her long red hair.

"I suppose we can go see it." Lex looked at Lian.

"You have to make sure to check the statue by the old oak tree." The woman told them and walked away.

Lian nodded and started to walk towards the park.

"Hold on!" Lex ran to chase her, "You're like a child, Lian!" he groaned.

"I am a Princess." Lian chuckled as she avoided people.

The two ran and reached the entrance to the wooded park.

"I'm guessing that's the old oak tree." Lian pointed down the dirt trail to a massive oak tree in the center, "And that must be the statue."

"Don't you dare run a-" Lex sighed when Lian sped off.

The two ran towards the statue of what appeared to be an old hermit with a cane.

"Dedicated to Joseph of the Star Family." Lian read the inscription on a bronze tablet nearby.

"What's this?" Lex looked at a red eagle mark on the pedestal holding up the statue and touched it.  
"It doesn't appear to be new." He saw that his fingers had no red paint.

"But it doesn't look like it's part of the statue." Lian also touched it.

The two shook their heads.

"Regardless, look." Lex pointed at a clearing in the forest a good distance away, "Perhaps we can relax for a bit before we head back."

"Never took you for one to relax." Lian chuckled but traveled to that area regardless.

The red eagle mark on the pedestal disappeared right after they left its vicinity.

Lex and Lian walked down to the clearing and lay on the ground.

"What a peaceful day." Said the princess as she took off her boots, "The grass is so soft!" she felt the grass run through her toes.

"The weather is nice." Lex nodded and laid down, "I almost wish to take a nap." He stretched out his arms.

"So do I." Lian yawned and did the same, "Hmmm?" she felt something touch her hand.

Lex looked at his hand and saw that it was her hand touching him.  
"Hoh." He said and looked at her delicate fingers.

"Cmph." Lian coughed lightly.

"Apologies." Lex looked away and retracted his hand.

"No no." Lian shook her head, "It's alright. It was an accident." She looked away too.

Lex sat up and looked at his gloved hands, then raised the one that touched Lian's hand near his face.

A fragrant scent of sugar cane and perfume.

"Lex." Lian sat up.

"I am dedicated to the Law above all… Even you, Lian." Lex responded, "I cannot have such intentions plague my heart in these times."

Lian sighed and looked down at the ground.  
"The fact that you are a commoner also brings the same reason to me. I have a throne to pass on, and my advisors would dissuade me from choosing one from among the people." She spoke.

Lex set his hands to the side but landed over Lian's hand.

Lian turned to face him.  
Her stern pale face radiated in the noon light.  
Her pink lips stood out as much as her feminine features, which hid so cleverly behind her royal red silk clothing.

Lex reached out to touch her face.

"Lex…" Lian reached for his chin.

Their faces came closer together.  
Then lips-

"BLAGH!" Lex gagged.

"What the hell was that?!" Lian yelled as she scrubbed her lips with her hand.

"What was that!?" Lex did the same and looked at his hand, then saw insect legs on them, "What th-" he saw the remains of a beetle splattered over Lian's face.

"Was that a bug?" Lian said, then saw Lex reach for her face and grab it.

"It appears to have been a beetle of some sort." Lex wiped away the bug remains and then caressed her hair.  
"What a pity."

"Yes, it was…" Lian looked at him with loving eyes, then those same eyes widened, "Lex!" she screamed and pointed at his thigh.

Lex looked down and saw a snake slithering on him.  
"Hah!" he gasped and jumped up, "What!?" he saw another snake climbing up on his other leg, "Get o-"

A rabbit was hopping towards Lian.

"Ah!" Lian yelped when the rabbit jumped on her and clung on.

"What is going on here?" Lex said as he saw some beetles from the nearby trees fly over to them!

"I guess I finally caught you two love birds." A voice came out.  
It was the red-headed local from before, who removed her cloak to show off her green outfit.

"Huh?" Lex looked at her.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Lian yelled as she felt snails crawl on her legs.

"I guess I should be nice." The woman said, "I am Cassie, and what you are witnessing now is the power of my Stand granted to me by the oracle Seris… Its name is HERA'S SYMPHONY."

"Seris? That's the enemy we are planning to face." Lex looked at Cassie, "She doesn't look like the rest of the felons we have encountered."

Cassie had an innocent aura around her, unlike the other enemies they had faced.

"The Oracle Seris had granted me the favor to leave my home to help fight the magistrate, I can only return it by fighting the people that are trying to kill her." Cassie said.

"I'm coming to get you!" Lian yelled and walked to the woman, "Take- WAH!" she yelled when a deer came out of the woods and ran into her.

"This will only continue until you are trampled or surrender!" Cassie pointed at them.

Lex gasped when two more does appeared from the woods and tackled him.  
"It seems all these animals are attracted to us." He growled as all the animals rubbed themselves on them, "We need to get out of here!" he said.

"Alright!" Lian said and called out Power Khan to push the animals away from her.

Lex did the same with his stand, and the two bolted.

"Wait! You can't leave me!" Cassie called out, "If they get out of my range, my stand will no longer affect them. Oh… If I just had Zigs with me…" she groaned and ran to follow them.

Lex and Lian ran out of the park.

"Looks like she's still following us." Lian turned to see Cassie pressing on behind, "She must want to watch us b- WAH!" she was tripped by a racoon that came out of a trash can.

"Lian!" Lex yelled and was going to help her before two cats jumped on his shoulders.

"I'm getting tired of this already!" Lian groaned as a large dog rubbed itself on her back.

Lex grumbled as he took out his stand and made it aim at the dog.

"You can't!" Lian said, "These animals are doing nothing wrong! It's that stand that's controlling them." She pleaded and took out Power Khan.

Power Khan lifted the dog and set it somewhere else.

"I never took you as one to love animals." Lex said as he did the same with the cats and the racoon.

"I love animals." Lian responded as the two darted to avoid a pack of stray dogs coming straight for them.

"It's best to give up now!" Cassie called out, "The longer my stand stays with you, the more powerful your lure to animals will become- Wah!" she avoided a cat that was chasing her targets.

"I think she's right." Lex growled as he saw rats and cockroaches coming out of the sewer and ran straight for them.

"This is disgusting!" Lian groaned as stray cats ran out from an alleyway to follow them.

"Hey!" a nearby civilian walking her dog screamed when it yanked itself loose and joined in the chase.

"We can't stop running!" Lex told Lian.

"I wasn't planning to!" Lian looked back at the mass of animals chasing them, "Oh!" she narrowly avoided some pigeons swooping down from the buildings.

"Damn it!" Lex was hit by a crow, "They're gaining on us!" he said as the animals pressed on their heels.

"I hate how I'm so damn slow!" Lian stumbled on her bare feet, "I forgot my boots at the park!"

Lex grumbled and got behind the princess, then swooped her up in his arms and carried her.

"What are you doing, Lex?" Lian asked, "You're going to get slower if you carry me! Not that I weigh a lot…" she mumbled.

"You don't look like it." Lex shook his head, "You have a very fine figure…. Carnally speaking, of course."

"I'll take it." Lian nodded and chuckled, "Watch out!" she pointed at some racoons that appeared from a trash can.

"Damn it!" Lex growled and jumped over the animals, "That was close…" he sighed, only to have his head struck by another crow.  
He stumbled long enough for a dog to tackle his leg and knock him down.

"Oof!" the two fell and were immediately smothered by all types of animals.

Cassie stopped a few meters behind.  
"I have you now!" she pointed at the mass of animals, "Surrender! I will take you to the Oracle or you will die under all those an-"

"RAH!" Power Khan appeared and pushed all the animals away in a radius.

Lian and Lex emerged from the dogpile.

"That was the worse…" the princess groaned and removed a cockroach from her shoulder.

"Stop this at once!" Lex yelled at Cassie.

"Not until you surrender to the Oracle!" Cassie responded, "And you better do so soon!" she pointed behind them.

"Huh?" Lian turned, then gasped in shock when she saw an ox come running down the road with some horses behind it.

"Uh oh." Lex gulped.

"Run!" Lian and Lex sprinted once again.

"We need to find a way to defeat this stand!" Lian said, "It doesn't appear to have a physical form, or at least one we have seen!"

Lex pondered deeply.  
"Perhaps that red eagle we touched back at the park was the stand!" he exclaimed.

"It's better than nothing!" Lian said as more oxen carrying wagons and horses carrying their riders joined in the chase.

"We need to get rid of it!"  
The two ran towards the nature park and reached the statue.

"It's gone!" Lex said as he saw that the pedestal was cleared of any red eagle.

"What are we going to do now!?" Lian turned to see the mass of animals run towards them.

"Nothing you can do!" Cassie called out from the sidelines, "But surrender or die!"

Lian growled, then looked ahead and had a perfect idea.  
"Lex, we need to split up!" she told the man.

"Do you think that-"

"We need to do it!" Lian said.

Lex nodded and the two split, causing the wave of animals to split accordingly.

"What are they doing!?" Cassie gasped, "I can't follow both of them!" she said, "Argh! He's the biggest threat!" she pointed at Lex and ran after him.

Lian grumbled and started to run away to the west.

Lex started running to the east but kept a close eye on Lian as he did so.  
"It's that woman, maybe I can take a sh-" he was hit by a group of songbirds, "I can't concentrate with all these animals around!" he said as he kept losing his line of sight on Cassie.

Cassie continued chasing Lex as he went into the town and started running across the streets.  
"That other girl is still under my stand's effects. I can feel it." She mumbled, "Why are they sticking so close together-" she saw Lian through an alleyway, "I have to stop one of them!" she cut the chase and ran down the alley.

Lian panted as her feet started to bleed from contact with everything on the roads and sidewalks.  
"I don't think I can keep this up for lon-" she saw Cassie intercept her with a crossbow.

"Stop right there!" Cassie yelled and aimed her weapon.

"Hrrr…" Lian growled, "I can't stop!"

"One more travel and I end you!" Cassie added.

Lian continued pressing forward.

"Here go-"

"Over here!" Lex yelled from behind her, causing the red-head to turn.

"Power Khan!" Lian called out her stand, then used it to jump sky high.

"The Law! Retrieve!" Lex called out his stand and caused it to shoot Lian in the stomach, then propelled himself up to meet her.

"What?!" Cassie saw as the two embraced above her, "What-" she heard the stampeding of the animals closing in on her.  
"NO!"

 **00000000**

Lex and Lian landed on top of the fence that blocked off the Mayor's Menagerie.

"At least we didn't attract these animals…" Lian sighed as she saw the massive beasts that lay within.

"I could imagine the damage caused by that." Lex mumbled, then noticed all the animals that had been chasing them returned to their natural personas and scurried off.  
"It seems we have rid ourselves of the stand's curse."

"And I can see why." Lian said as she saw a trampled Cassie spread out across the sidewalk, battered and beaten to a bloody mess, but still alive.

Cassie panted and groaned as she looked at her broken arm with her bruised eyes.  
"Not… fair…."

"Life isn't fair, girl." Lian jumped down and looked at the red-head, then kicked her in the head.

"Enough of that." Lex stopped her, "She's a mess, we don't want to go overboard." He stepped back with her.

Cassie grumbled in pain as she saw the two leave, then blacked out.


	17. GOD FAFNIR

**Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 17**

 **"God Fafnir" Drogoz**

* * *

The pale woman stood in her dark cellar observing the times through a magical pool of purple water. Her face, though emotionless, betrayed her for a few moments to reveal a hint of frustration on the curling of her lips.  
Her hand, laden with metallic chains and finger decorations, moved across the pool of water and stopped.

"Lady Seris." A cloaked figure spoke as he bowed before the woman, "The contact you hired in the desert is here to see you."

"Let him in."

The figure nodded and exited the door.

The woman sighed and twirled her fingers across the water.

Two footsteps reverberated across the empty stone room.  
Sha Lin walked inside.  
"Howdy." He waved at her, "I heard you were the person who gave out the contract."

Seris nodded but did not turn to face him.

"Well, unfortunately my partner-"

"Died. Yes, how unfortunate." Seris said in a monotone voice, "You, however, I figured lived to tell the tale."

"Well I am standing here." Sha Lin joked, "It was a funny story by the way."

"Wetting your pants in flight was quite entertaining." Seris spoke.

Sha Lin stopped and looked at her, completely shocked that she knew such details.  
"Wha-" he stepped back.

"Sha Lin, did you want something?" Seris suddenly appeared behind the man in a mist of purple smoke.

Sha Lin felt a cold chill crawl up his spine as the pale woman walked in front of him.

"Perhaps, a second chance to take them out?" she continued as she returned back to her pool, "But I hate to hear my own presumptions… why not tell me from your own words?"

Sha Lin gulped and clenched his fists.  
"I just wanted to let you know what happened… I almost killed the enforcer among them." He reported, "Had it not been for Zhin, an old friend of mine."

"Almost is not good enough for me…" Seris raised her hand, still looking at her pool, then clenched it.

Sha Lin's throat started to be choked by a shadowy being.

"You can almost breathe, can you not?" Seris continued, "But is that good?"

Sha Lin gagged and started to raise his arms.

"You can almost escape the darkness of blacking out… but is that good?"

Sha Lin wheezed when he regained his ability to breathe.  
"I just wanted to say that… they… are heading… this way…" he panted and breathed in deeply.

"Yes, I know." Seris grunted.  
"My avenging gods are falling to that group of misfits led by my sister… My Black Parade falling to those fools. Cassie, the young woman who pledged her life to me after I helped her escape her duties, Makoa, the ancient I only tricked, and Skaadi's Service, that ancient frost stand…."

Sha Lin saw the woman turn to face him.

"What are you going to do to help me, Sha Lin?" Seris asked, "You have only fled with your trousers wet from your own fear… And anyone can tell me the times and events that have occurred, even I can."

Sha Lin stammered as the woman raised her hands.

"What is this?" Seris spoke as she lifted an arrow from Sha Lin's hand.

Sha Lin gulped.

Seris mumbled and looked at the arrow, then stabbed herself in her exposed stomach.

Sha Lin gasped as black blood flowed from the wound.

"My body has been irreparably damaged by my sister's cursed Pyre." She murmured, "Long ago, we stood opposed, and she has caused my Abyssal regeneration to falter beyond simple repair… Unless." She stopped and showed of that her wound had healed but was still scarred.  
"That's a story for another time. Sha Lin, all I need from you is to kill them all with your stand." She sat down on a nearby stone throne and looked at the arrow.  
"And bring me the body of Furia…. Or Sarah K."

Sha Lin made the arrow she was holding disappear.

"I am glad you accepted my offer." Seris said lowly.

 _This crazy woman is going to get me killed! Me against those four guys!? This is insane!_ Sha Lin thought to himself.  
 _I should have never listened to darling Ying… Oh I knew women would be the death of me…_

Sha Lin clenched his fists and glared at the back of Seris' hood.

 _I don't want to be part of your family issues, lady. I'm outta here, but not before I kill you and whatever crazy powers you have alongside you._

"Why have you not gone, Sha Lin?" Seris asked as she grabbed a nearby book, "All you have to kill them, or I will consume your soul with the Abyss."

Sha Lin snarled.  
 _You're all alone and vulnerable. Perhaps a quick killing blow will stop whatever healing powers you have on you.  
Feel sorry for you, lady. I was only in this to get a shot with Ying, but now that she's dead, I'll just get a shot on you!_

The archer called out The Bow and pulled it back with an arrow loaded, glaring at the woman's head.  
 _You have a lot of old stuff here, might also be a good treasure to get much money out of._ He looked around and saw all the old artifacts, gold statues, and a glowing metal lantern atop a stone pedestal.  
 _I'll get a lot out of you, you crazy bitch._

"Why haven't you released the string yet?"

Sha Lin's eyes widened in shock as Seris was no longer on her seat.  
"Huh? Where did you go?" he spoke to himself as his eyes darted across the dark dungeon.

"You have an appetite for coming out on top." Seris' voice sounded behind him.  
"I like that… It gives you… a killing drive." She caressed his neck with her cold fingers.

Sha Lin started to sweat profusely, and his eyelids started to twitch violently.

"Now, I recommend you use that appetite in your quest to kill my enemies." Seris mumbled and walked back to her seat.

Sha Lin gulped and sped off out the door.

A few moments later, the dark cloaked figure walked inside.  
"I see you convinced him." He murmured as he walked down the stone steps.

"He has a weak mind driven only by material desires." Seris responded, "The easiest to mold to your will."

The dark figure chuckled, then saw that the pedestal that held the metal lantern was empty.  
"Lady Seri-"

"I know." Seris spoke, "I know."

00000000000

A slithering figure walked amongst some villagers as they congregated by the market.  
It was a wyrm.  
A dreadful snake.  
Despised, scorned, and shunned by all but the lowliest of creatures.

It was angrily avoiding the disdainful looks of the humans around it, until it was blocked by a mother and child.  
"Begone!" the fiend snarled and pushed the mother aside, "I have a mission to complete…" he continued and turned down and alleyway.

Zhin, Moji, and Sarah were walking down the road attending the market.

"I hope we can find something for the journey ahead." Sarah sighed as she felt the cool air hit her face, "Now that we have a new member aboard, we may have to buy some more!"

Zhin saw Moji struggle to pass through the crowds.  
"Let me aid you." He said and picked her up.

"Oh!" Moji gasped as she was raised.

Nearby, the mother from before came out of the alley and walked among the people.  
"Where are they?" the woman gruffly spoke as she made serpentine moves through the crowds.

The three paladins continued until the crowds started to whittle down to the point where it was only a handful of people on the roads.

"Why are we over here?" Moji asked Sarah as she balanced on Zhin's shoulders.

"I always believed that the freshest food is found where there are little people." Sarah responded as she avoided a man, "Your little mom-and-pop shops are where I stop." She smiled and started to make her way to a building of particular interest.

A bakery.

"I'll see if they have any bread here." Sarah informed as she sniffed the air, "Do you all want to come in?"

"I do!" Moji raised her paw and jumped from Zhin's back, "Oh I want some tarts! Do you think they have pumpkin ones?" she asked Sarah.

"I'm sure they do." Sarah smiled and turned to Zhin, "Zhin, will you join us?"

"No." Zhin responded, "I'll be on the lookout just in case Lian and Lex catch up to us. Where did we leave them again?" he cleaned his right ear.

"The pond at the park." Sarah sighed, "Oh well, we'll be out in a minute!"

"Aww! Zhin, join us!" Moji pouted.

"It's best to stay out here, Moji." Zhin nodded and the two entered the building, "I wonder how long it will take them." He thought to himself, then saw a woman walk into what appeared to be a saloon.  
"Odd place for a woman to be." He chuckled and shook his head.

The man's focus turned to the bakery, then to his task at hand of waiting for Lian and Lex.

"I don't even understand how she could like him." Zhin laughed, "Oh well, a wise man once said that love is blind, on both ends." He smirked and then looked around again.

One of the women from the saloon had exited and was crossing the street to his side.  
A very beautiful woman.  
A…. hostess of the saloon.

Zhin looked at this woman and saw that she was very shifty but ignored it because of her looks. He started to fix his composure when he knew she was coming straight at him.

"Hello." The woman said as she came near the man.  
"I see you're alone out here…" she winked.

"I am a bit busy, but yes, I am alone." Zhin cleared his throat.

"You look like a strong man. A warrior perhaps." The woman ran her hand across his chest, "Yesssss, you look like you need a rest."

"Unfortunately I have duty to fulfill." Zhin shook his head, "I would love to spend some time with you but-"

The woman sighed and fixed her black corset, greatly emphasizing her two chest pieces.  
"My my… I understand. You can't have fun because you're busy. I've heard it before…" she sighed and started to walk away.

Zhin gulped as he saw her hinderparts, then looked back at the bakery.  
"Well, I am a bit thirsty." He coughed again, "My tongue's a bit dry."

The woman smirked.  
"Then why don't you join me for a drink?"

Zhin looked back at the bakery one last time and followed the woman into the saloon.  
"What will you…" he opened the doors but stopped when he saw every person inside was knocked unconscious.  
"What the-" he turned to the woman.

The woman's skin and frame was expanding rapidly, become coarser and redder with each moment.

"What is going on here!?" Zhin gasped as the form of the woman quickly vanished and became one of a wyrm.  
"What the hell!?"

The wyrm turned with his beady yellow eyes and snarled.  
"You fool!" he roared and struck the man with a draconic punch, instantly knocking him out of the fight.

Zhin groaned in pain and slid down the wooden wall, having cracked it on impact.

"Now… I go for your friendsssss… Serissss will be most pleased." The wyrm chuckled as he grabbed a nearby set of nails and then used his club like tail to nail Zhin to the wall.  
"Hahahahahahaa…." He stepped back and looked at the hostess he had previously copied, "I don't need you anymore, worm." He stepped on her neck and snapped it.  
"I, Drogoz, will strike them with their own kind as my stand FAFNIR'S SHIFT allows me to."

The wyrm's form started to shift from serpent to human.  
A particular human.  
A man with green robes and long black hair.  
Zhin.

Drogoz chuckled and glared at Zhin, "I will be back with your friends, then I will burn your bones and give the ashes to Seris!" he snarled and stepped out.

"Zhin!" a rough voice sounded from the streets.  
It was Lex.  
"Drinking so early?" he chuckled as he walked towards the wyrm in disguise.

"I couldn't help myself… Silly me…" Drogoz chuckled uneasily.  
 _How fortuitous, another comes straight into my clutches_.  
"Want to drink?" he asked.

Lex shook his head.  
"How many times do I have to tell you I don't drink." He sighed.

Drogoz snarled.  
"Perhaps you want to hear the music inside?" he continued.

"Are you alright, Zhin?" Lex asked.

Drogoz gulped as the enforcer's stern eyes peered into his soul.  
He looked around and saw that there were still people here.  
 _These pesky humans will cause a scare if I strike this fool down here._ He thought to himself.  
"I am well. Just a bit too much to drink."

Lex groaned.

"I think I forgot my wallet in there." Drogoz said as he started to lumber towards the saloon, then stumbled on the steps.

"Look at yourself." Lex grunted as he helped the wyrm up, "Come, I'll help you retrieve it."

Drogoz smirked as he charged some draconic power into his fist.

"Attention!" Lex announced, but then went silent when he saw the scene.  
"What is the mea- AUGH!" he was clobbered across the face by a now revealed Drogoz, who once again grabbed nails from the counter.

"Another one Bites the Dust." Drogoz cackled as he nailed Lex to the floor, "This is too easy. I'll be drowning in gold before I know it." He rubbed his hands together and stuck out his serpentine tongue.

The wyrm then transformed his body into that of Lex, then made his way outside.  
"Time to hunt…" he cackled and walked down the road.  
"Where could the sister be?" he asked himself as he looked around, "Seris will be most pleased if I give her that woman's charred bones to her." He muttered.

The people around looked at him with respect.

"Pathetic humans." Drogoz snarled, "Only caring for their kind… how narcissistic." He shook his head and started to walk towards the busy market.  
That was, until a hand grabbed him from behind.

"Where do you think you're going?" a voice asked as the wyrm was turned around.

Lian.

"Lex, are you done from going to the restroom?" the princess asked him, "If you are, hurry up, I really want to go back to the inn."

Drogoz sighed in relief when he realized his cover had not been blown.  
"Yes, but where is the sister?" he asked.

"The… sister?" Lian looked at him in confusion.

"I mean, Sarah!" Drogoz shook his head, "Apologies, all these people are distracting my mind."

"Well then, we should get away from here." Lian smirked and grabbed Drogoz by the hand, "Come, I have prepared our inn!"

Drogoz growled as he was being dragged by an powerful force.  
"What is thi-" he stopped to see Power Khan's arm envelop Lian's, "That must be her stand!" he called out.

"Huh?" Lian looked back, "Did you say something?"

Drogoz shook his head.

000

"Where is Zhin?" Moji asked as she stepped out of the bakery.

"Hmmm… that's a good question." Sarah pondered and looked at the empty space in front of them, "Do you think Lian and Lex arrived? Maybe they took him to the inn." She shrugged her shoulders and pulled out a bread from a bag, "Mmm…. Smells good."

"No." Moji shook her head, "But smell…" she said and started to sniff the air, "I can smell Zhin." She said and started to sniff the ground.

"Leipori senses must be powerful for that." Sarah said as she walked behind Moji.

"He was around here… but then another scent." Moji said, "It's going…" she pointed to the saloon, "There!"

"Figures." Sarah sighed as she walked towards the saloon, "Probably drinking. That is his favorite thing." She pushed away the wooden doors.  
"OH NO!"

000000000

Drogoz murmured uneasily as Lian fidgeted with the keys while trying to open the door to her room.  
He made sure too look around to see if there were witnesses, but there was a group of men and some waitresses going about the hall they were on.

"Damn it!" Lian groaned, "Ah ha!" she exclaimed when the key went in, "Finally!" she stepped inside.

Drogoz followed behind and closed the door behind him.  
"Finally…" he cackled when he noticed the solitude between them, then started to charge his draconic power.

"Lex… I want you to see something."

Drogoz turned to see Lian with a towel covering her chest, for she was disrobed from the top.  
"Uh…" he muttered awkwardly.

"Don't be disturbed, for you behold a princess." Lian said as she turned her back to him, "I wanted you to see something in the little time we have alone. I never showed this to anyone outside the royal house."

Drogoz looked at her back.  
White, pristine, clear and clean.

But on it was a blemish.

A blemish shaped like a galaxy with a clear area in the center located on her right shoulder.

"My nursemaid told me it is a birthmark." Lian mumbled, "But none of my parents had it." She rubbed her hand over it.  
"You see, Lex… There is another secret I want to tell you after this… I am not of royal seed." She said lowly.  
"My parents are not King and Queen Aico." She walked to the bathroom.

"This wench does not shut her mouth." Drogoz snarled, "I should just end her now." He glared at the bathroom door and looked at his empowered fist.  
He then walked to said door and opened it.

"AHHHHH!" Lian shrieked, causing the wyrm to recoil.  
"Lex! Have some decency!" she came out with a towel covering her whole body, "I never imagined you doing this! Especially to a princess! Especially after I told you some deep secrets!" she yelled at his face.  
"How dare you try and defile a princess!?"

"Shut up you monkey!" Drogoz snapped and raised his fist.

Power Khan came out and punched the wyrm in self-defense.

Outside in the halls, Lex, Zhin, Moji, and Sarah ran down.

"Quick, we have to warn her!" Sarah spoke as they started to reach the door to their inn, "The stand user may already be with her!"

"Lian!" Zhin called out.

"WAHHHH!" Drogoz shot out of the wall and struck Lex, causing both of them to hit the wall behind them.

"How dare you raise your hand at me, you fool!" Lian walked out with the towel still on her, "To think I was starting to like you!" she pointed at him.

Him.

But which him?

Lian gasped as two Lexes stood up.

"What?!" Zhin stepped back when he saw the sight.

"That must be the stand user!" Moji pointed at one of the Lexes, but then moved it to the other, then the other.  
"One of those!" she said.

"Perhaps the Pyre will reveal this." Sarah said and gazed into the two Lexs' souls.  
"What?! They're the same!" she stood aghast.

"What is going on here!?" Lex looked at Drogoz, "What is the meaning of this! You are the stand user!"

"No you are!" Drogoz responded, "Stop this at once, impostor!"

"Silence!" Lian spoke, "I will settle this!" she pointed at both of them, "The real Lex would not lie to me. Lex, what is the shape of the birthmark I showed you?"

"The what?" the two Lexs spoke.

"One of you must be lying…" Lian snarled, "any help?" she looked at her allies.

"Why aren't you wearing clothes?" Zhin asked, only to get smacked on the back of the head by Sarah.

"Lian, I must assure you I am Lex." Lex said, "This man is the impostor."

"The stand user is lying to you, Lian." Drogoz responded, "I am the real Lex, please believe me."

Lian sighed and shifted her tiara side to side.  
But she had no tiara on, leaving her motionless for a few seconds.  
"What a pain." She shook her head.

"I can't even tell them apart by their souls… Perhaps scent?" Sarah asked Moji.

"Alright!" Moji saluted and walked up to the two Lexs, then started to smell them.  
"It's the same…." She sighed and stepped away.

"This stand must be so good at mimicking people." Zhin murmured, "Not only copy appearance, but scent and even soul- Wait." He raised his hand.

"Not now, Zhin, I have a better idea." Lian murmured lowly, then opened her towel.

"AHH!" Lex covered his eyes faster than human comprehension.  
"STOP THAT!" Drogoz did the same.

"Lian!" Sarah yelled and covered Moji's eyes.

"I thought that would work…" Lian quickly covered herself.

"Can I look? OOF!" Zhin was elbowed in the ribs, "But regardless…. I know a way to do this!" he interrupted Lian, "Seeing you have…. Well… embarrassed yourself." He smirked.

"Get on with it!" Lian snarled.

"Alright alright…" Zhin chuckled, "From what I've heard Sarah say, a stand is a manifestation of the user's fighting spirit… or something like that." He murmured.

"What does this have to do with anything?" Lex asked.

"Everyone has a different fighting spirit. All of us. Some are brash, some are timid." Zhin looked at Lian and Moji respectively, "So… a stand must be unique to anyone, even a stand user who can construct himself as others! Lex! Show me your stand, The Law!" he pointed a the two Lexs.

"Alright." Lex said and took out The Law.

Drogoz stammered.

"Hmmmm." The Paladins looked at him.

"Give me a moment." Drogoz responded, "Hrrr…. You may have found me, but you will all still burn!" he roared and shifted back to his wyrm form.  
"RAHHHHH!" he breathed in and started to form fire in his mouth, "R- HNGH!" a tight fist clenched his throat.

Power Khan was strangling the serpent.

"See you later, alligator." Zhin chuckled as they all took out their stands.

 **0000000000**

"Amazing mount!" a blonde woman from the north exclaimed as she saw a trophy mount carried by Zhin.

On it was a wyrm's head.

"We captured this creature down south." Lian chuckled as she saw the hunting accessories at the woman's market booth.  
"We'll sell it to you for 10,000 coin."

The woman looked at it, moving her braid back and forth as she did.  
"I've definitely hunted bigger." She said and pointed to her own mounts behind her, "But I suppose it is fair for a dragon slayer."

"Great." Zhin chuckled.

"How did you kill it, if I may ask?" the woman said as she set the trophy to the side and pulled out some coins.  
"I thought dragon hide was impenetrable."

"Wrong place at the wrong time." Sarah responded, "He also didn't make a stand." She joked.

Her allies laughed.

* * *

Please Review! Greatly appreciate all the support!


	18. GODDESS MORRIGAN

**Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 18**

 **"Goddess Morrigan" Pip**

* * *

Zhin and Lex walked down an empty street road on the outskirts of a small town. It was around evening time, but not well into the night where there would be a no people on the streets.

Right now, it was but merchants setting up their stands and a few civilians going to their homes.

"How much closer to Seris?" Zhin asked the enforcer as the two avoided a young woman.

"The town or the wretch?" Lex chuckled.

"Popping jokes now, huh?" Zhin smirked, "Seems you're losing your bad cop attitude. Regardless, I meant the town."

"A few days more. This should be the last main Magistrate town before we get to the Southern Territory." Lex informed, "Though it might be a bit difficult to actually get to Seris… the town."

"Why do you say that?"

"Seris was engulfed by an unforeseen power that consumed the town, its people, and the surrounding country side." Lex told the swordsman, "Not one man, woman, or even child was found alive when an expeditionary force of soldiers and enforcers went in. Only… the most hideous deamons you could imagine…"

Zhin stood quiet as Lex looked down.

"I lost many allies to that cursed town. Some, even friends…" Lex murmured, "As of now, the Magistrate has quarantined the entire countryside and only expeditionary forces can go inside the exclusion zone."

"Sounds r-" Zhin stopped when he heard a scream.

A woman ran out of a building screaming and crying for help, tripping on the stone road.  
"AHHHH!" she shrieked when a zombie came out of her house holding what they presumed to be her husband's head.

"What the hell!?" Zhin yelled.

"Rahhh…." The zombie groaned, but the moment he stepped into the evening sunlight, he vaporized.

Lex ran to the woman and held her.

"OH MY GODS!" The woman cried when the head tumbled down near her feet.

"Get her away from here!" Lex pointed at two nearby merchants, who stammered and ran to pick her up.  
"What is going on here…" he grumbled and pulled out his two magnums.

Inside the woman's house was the stench of death, but also two other zombies that were kicking the headless corpse.

"Stop right there!" Lex yelled and aimed at the two monsters.

The zombies growled and turned to face the enforcer.

"What is.." Lex looked at a glowing black portal behind a sofa, "Hrrr!" he yelled and blasted the two zombies with his magnums.

The monsters fell to the ground, dead.

00000000000

"This is most concerning…." Sarah mumbled as she looked at Zhin and Lex. She fixed her posture on her chair and looked around the inn lobby.  
"Zombies… burning up in the light…"

"They also came from this portal…" Zhin reported, "Which shot out three more zombies before it just vanished."

Sarah sighed.  
"This is my sister's doing." She stood up and looked at all her allies, "Those zombies were creatures of the Abyss. I've seen this before…"

"Really, it feels like it's something new." Lian sighed, "can you at least tell us what this Abyss does? It seems we're missing a lot to the story here."

"Lian is right, it feels like you are hiding so much from us." Lex added, "Sarah, we need this information if we want to succeed."

"What's the Abyss?" Moji asked.

"You see?!" Zhin grumbled.

Sarah looked down.  
"I suppose it was unbecoming of me to do this." She said maturely, the strength in her voice overtaking what was previously a carefree and lighthearted demeanor.  
"The Abyss consumed my sister long ago, 26 years ago, to be exact." She informed them, "She willingly accepted this heinous corruption that gave her unseemly abilities… You see, before this, my sister and I were both users of the Pyre, but…"

Her allies saw she faltered in her speech.

"She betrayed us. Blinded by selfish greed and desire for something that did not want to be hers." Sarah continued, holding back pure sadness, "After donning the Crown of the Akkadians she gained that wicked power. The Abyss is the opposite of the Pyre, The Abyss corrupts… But yet, its powers are similar. With The Abyss, my sister can regenerate from wounds like I can, but she can also absorb the life force of other beings, creating them into puppets of the darkness… all afraid of the glowing light of the Sun."

"So you're telling me that your sister can create those zombies?" Zhin asked.

"Yes." Sarah responded, "The Abyss has also granted her a limited prescience, perhaps a remnant from when she held the Pyre. With this she can see any person in any location at any time, meaning she may as well be watching us right now."

"Which is why she can send those assassins so perfectly all the time…" Lex murmured, "I honestly cannot believe you did not tell us this sooner."

"I know, but I felt that I needed to protect you…"

"Knowledge of this could have protected us sooner!" Lian yelled, "Sarah! I cannot believe this! We've all worked hard to make ourselves a team yet you have these huge secrets that could have helped us!"

"I know! I just-" Sarah looked at Lian, who was snarling at her with such disgust.  
"Lian, I just-"

"What else is there, huh?!" Lian pointed at her, "Can she shoot lightning bolts from her eyes and balls of fire from her arse? Agh…!" she groaned in anger and waved her hand dismissively.

"Lian!" Sarah ran to her as she started to storm out, "Lian please, I just did it to protect you!" she hugged her.

"From what!? Valuable information?" Lian grunted.

"She speaks the truth." Lex crossed his arms.

"Yeah, what he said." Zhin grumbled, then felt Moji hide behind his legs.

"Seris can travel with the Abyss a limited distance across the world." Sarah continued, "She could have struck us earlier if I had told you all about her… And not knowing what her stand was or what its power is… I ju-"

"And she's still coming out with more powers!" Lian groaned, "What a pain…" she shifted her tiara side to side and pushed the woman away.  
"Seriously." The princess murmured and glared at Sarah, "I honestly can't even…"

Sarah's eyes started to well up.  
"Lian…"

"Shut it." Lian dismissed her.

"I only did this because I care about you immensely."

"And I'm supposed to trust you now?" Lian scoffed and stormed out.

Sarah shook her head and fell to her knees.

Lex shook his head and knelt next to her, "Zhin, go get Lian. We cannot get separated… especially after all these revelations…"

Zhin nodded.  
"Whatever this Seris can do, she can't possibly defeat both Lian and I!" he smirked, "Moji, stay with Lex, he may need the help."

"O-O-Ok!" Moji said and ran to Lex.

Zhin chuckled and ran out of the inn, then looked to his right and left.  
"Ah ha." He saw Lian storming down the road to his right.  
"Lian!" he yelled and waved his hand.

Lian heard this but ignored it as she pushed aside a man.

Zhin sighed and continued following her,  
"Lian come on! We can talk about this over dinner or something!" he joked as he avoided a group of people, "You, me… a nice bottle of champagne. I know that kiss you gave me when I possessed was more than just a saving grace-" he paused when he did see Lian anymore.  
"Huh- HNGH!" he was kneed from behind.

"Shut up!" Lian snarled and raised her fist, "I am not in the mood for jokes!"

Zhin nodded as he held his back.  
"At least I got you to stop…" he murmured and turned to face Lian, but she was no longer there.  
"Goodness gracious." He rubbed his temples and looked around.  
"Where has Princess Hissy Fit run off to now?" he grumbled.

The swordsman ran through the crowds until he reached a quieter area which was near a bazaar that was devoid of people.

"Huh…" Zhin sighed, but then stopped to see a figure strolling past a merchant stand.

It was a vulpin.  
A golden furred one.

"Wait a minute…" Zhin murmured, "You're the one who tried to scam me you little twerp!" he yelled and grabbed the creature by the collar.

"Hey hey! OH!" the vulpin gasped when he saw who was holding him, "Hello there! Uh… Fancy seeing you again?" he chuckled uneasily.  
"Long time no see my eastern friend… How are you?"

"I was almost 500 coins shorter…" Zhin snarled.

"At least you weren't…" the vulpin responded, "Say, let's let it all fly past us. There's no hard feelings, right?"

"Wrong." Zhin grunted, "You're going to give me back the 300 coins you swindled from me or else."

"Well… I tried being reasonable. I guess Pip always has to be the bad guy." The vulpin sighed and shook his head, then shifted his tail to where the tip touched Zhin's chest.

"What are you doing? Trying to tickle me?" Zhin chuckled and balled up his fist, "Nice try, vermin. But you'll get what's coming to y-" he paused.

"Are you sure about that?" Pip smirked smugly as Zhin started to shake his head.

"Wha- What…" Zhin started to feel his strength falter and let go of the vulpin in response, "Oh… What's going on?" his sight got lower and lower.  
"What? Am I shrinking!?" he asked.

Pip laughed as he looked down at Zhin.  
"Well Well, looks like I am getting paid after all." He said and pulled out a cleaver.

"Hmph! That won't help you!" Zhin laughed and balled up his fists.  
Fists.  
Fists?  
What fists?  
Zhin shook his head when he felt no fingers nor skin, rather…  
Feathers?  
Zhin looked down at his hands and saw that there were no arms, but two little golden wings.

"W-w-w-what?!" Zhin yelled in shock as he looked at his body, which was all covered in golden feathers.

"How pitiful." Pip chuckled as he walked to a nearby alley and grabbed a broken mirror, "At least I should give you some help there, bud."

Zhin saw as the vulpin grabbed the mirror and placed it in front of him, then saw the awful truth.

"I'M A CHICKEN!?"

"Yikes…" Pip mumbled, "Didn't know you would have taken it that way."

"Ah… Ah…." Zhin bawked, "I'll kill you for this!" he called out his stand.  
But nothing appeared.  
"Ah….."

"As long as you are a chicken, there will be no stand. That is apparently what my stand can do." Pip threw away the mirror, "My stand called MORRIGAN'S SHIFT. A nice lady gave it to me in exchange for paying me to kill you. Pretty cool, huh?"

"You… work with Seris!" Zhin jumped up on his chicken feet, "Oh, I knew she would strike again seeing we're so close! We must have her with her tail between her legs!"

"Woah man, that's offensive." Pip told him.

"What? Oh yeah… Sorry."

"Yeah you should just be more careful about what phrases you use around people you feel me?"

"No not really."

"Human Privilege, I tell you what."

Zhin rolled his eyes.  
"Well I'm not really human anymore so…"

"Oh that's right." Pip rubbed his chin, "Well…"

"Yeah…"

Pip stood there looking at Zhin.  
"You know, I suppose I did forget what I was going to do."

"Oh, well I was going to look for my friend, but you did turn me into a chicken." Zhin responded.

"Ah yes, and I was going to kill you!" Pip snapped his fingers and looked at his cleaver.

"There you go!" Zhin gobbled, "Wait-"

"HRAH!" Pip jumped up and struck down with his knife.

Zhin squawked and flew back.

"Come here!" Pip scurried towards him, "I won't get paid if I don't get you!" he yelled and pounced on a stand.

Zhin gasped when the cleaver flew past him.  
"My tail feathers!" he yelled when he saw some feathers cut clean off.

"Missed!" Pip snarled, showing his teeth, "At least I still have the primal hunting skills." He chuckled and ran towards Zhin.

"Get away from me! I won't be your lunch!" Zhin growled and saw two merchants talking to each other nearby.  
"Hey! Hey!" he called out to them.

The merchants turned to see Chicken Zhin squabbling and ignored it.

"I'm talking to you, assholes!" Zhin yelled.  
"Hel-"

"They can't hear you, pal." Pip appeared with his cleaver, "To them, you're only a chicken." He chuckled.

"I'm not your pal." Zhin snarled, then ran towards another street.

"You won't escape me this time!" Pip laughed and threw the knife again, "Missed!" he growled and ran after his foe.  
"I'm going to bite you!" he gnashed his fangs, "I'm going to get that money even if I have to eat you!"

Zhin squawked and flew up to a stand.  
"I need to get out of here!" he looked up to see an open window, "HRAH!" he used all his might to lift his pudgy body off the stand and into the air.

"You won't leave!" Pip jumped up with jaws open.

"AGH!" Zhin felt the graze of his teeth on his behind and jolted upward.  
"Hrrggh!" he gave one last flap of his wings and landed on the windowsill, knocking over a flower pot.

A yelp sounded nearby, and a figure ran out with an axe.  
It was a beautiful young woman with a head covering.

"Ah…" she let out a huff of air when she noticed it was just a chicken, "What in heavens is this chicken doing here?" she set down the axe and walked over to Zhin.  
"What are you doing here?" she picked him up and looked over the balcony.

Pip scurried off under the incoming moonlight.

"It looks like you were being chased by a dog. Oh, poor thing." The woman mumbled and shook her head, "What careless owner would leave their pets to suffer?"

"Hey lady, I could use some help! Take me back to my friends at the Sunshine Inn-" Zhin stopped.

"Wow, you're a talker!" the woman smiled.

"I forgot she can't understand me…" Zhin murmured, "Oh… How am I supposed to tell her I need my allies… hell, how am I supposed to turn back to normal!?"

"You must be scared solid if you're gobbling that much!" The woman chuckled, "I'll clean the balcony tomorrow." She looked at the pot on the ground and shook her head, then walked inside her house.

Zhin saw the candlelights that gave the ambiance a nice, soft glow that was very welcoming.  
The motif of this woman's house was very foreign to him as well since it had long carpets and furniture unknown to him.  
"It looks like items from the Land of the Al-Shazeers." He said to himself.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of you." The woman said as she set him down on an ottoman, "Oh… Look at you…" she saw that he was lacking feathers on his backside.

"I need to get back to Lian… What if that stupid dog gets to her too?" Zhin grumbled and jumped on the nearby sofa.

"Oh, you're a feisty one!" the woman giggled, "You don't seem injured at all if you're hopping all over the place!"

"Oh be quiet!" Zhin growled and looked around her house.  
"What can be here that will l-" he paused when he saw a town map on the dinner table.  
"Bingo!" he said and fastened himself, then took flight and landed straight on the table.

However, his bird claws made him slide and hit a bowl of chicken soup.

"AH!" the woman gasped and ran to Zhin.  
"My dinner! Oh no!" she said.

"AHHH! AHHHH!" Zhin yelled as the scalding soup burned his delicate skin.

"Oh!" The woman said and grabbed Zhin, then wiped him away with a towel, "Oh you naughty bird! That's what happens! Oh… I'm going to keep you outside!" she grunted.

Zhin shook his head.

"Huh?" The woman mumbled, "Did you just-"

"I can't blow my cover just yet! That dog is still in the perimeter…" Zhin said to himself, then feigned injury by drooping his wing.

"Oh… the soup must have hurt you..." the woman mumbled as she saw the red stain across his golden feathers, "I also can't leave you like this…" she said and walked down her small hall.

"Where is she taking me-" Zhin paused when they walked through the kitchen.

The woman walked towards the iron oven she had.

"Oh no no no no no no no no no no…." Zhin gasped, "No!"

However, the woman turned to her small fountain sink.  
"I'm just going to clean you, silly bird." She giggled and set him down inside the sink.  
Or at least tried to.  
"My… you're a pudgy bird."

"Hmph…" Zhin grunted.

"I guess I'll have to clean you in my bath." The woman sighed and picked him up again, "Oh well…" she said and shook her head.  
The woman was graceful in her appearance and in her steps as she walked towards a doorway covered with beautiful silk curtains.

Zhin closed his eyes for a few seconds when the light got brighter, but then regained his sight to see a gorgeous fountain bath that had a balcony with a view of the distant dunes and oases.  
"Wow."

The woman set him down.  
"Well… we're here… but how do you clean a chicken?" she pondered, "Come on Yamina… Think… Think.."

"Yamina?" Zhin looked at the woman, "Well, she does look like the sand people… Wait, that's offensive." He said.  
"Chicken privilege…" he murmured.

"I guess a normal people bath will have to do." Yamina shrugged her shoulders, "Sorry." She looked at Zhin and sat next to him.

"No problem." Zhin spoke, "Wait, she can't hear me-" he paused when he saw the most stunning sight.

Yamina took off her head coverings to reveal long, flowing black hair that glowed in the candle and moonlight.

In fact, in lieu of the unfortunate events, Zhin started to finally notice the beauty of this woman.

"Wow, you became quiet." Yamina said and patted his head, "Well, here goes." She pulled out a bucket, filled it with bath water, then poured it on Zhin.

"BRRRRRR." Zhin shivered and flapped his wings, "That's cold!"

"I know it's cold." Yamina noticed Zhin's screeching and pulled out a bar of soap, "But you already burned yourself so I guess it balances out, no?" she joked.

"Wow, she's really having a lot of fun with me… as a chicken." Zhin murmured, "Does she live alone? I didn't see signs of anyone else being here. No husband, no parents…"  
Zhin felt the bar of soap lather him.

"You know, I've never had a pet." Yamina talked to Zhin, "But I think you would be great! You're such a well-mannered chicken!"

"Hey, as long as you don't eat me, I'm fine with you." Zhin looked at her feminine features, "Hell, I don't even mind being a chicken if this is my treatment."

Yamina grabbed another bucket of water and poured it on him.

Zhin gasped but then felt the warming bond of a towel wrapping around him.  
He felt the warmth of her hands rubbing him tenderly.  
"Oh….." he sighed in relief, "Oh yeah…. I would definitely stay like this…"

Yamina stood up and sat down with her back to the balcony.

"Hmmm." Zhin turned to face her and her chest, "Hey…" he said to himself and smirked, then lifted his wing and touched her chest.  
"OH I KNOW IT'S WRONG BUT I'M A CHICKEN SO IT DOESN'T MATTER!" he squawked loudly.

"What has gotten into you?" Yamina chuckled as Zhin bobbed his head around, "You really are liking this bath aren't you?"

Zhin dove face first into her chest.

"COCK-A-DOODLE DOOO!"

"Oh! Well your spirits are back up!" Yamina smiled and raised him up, "I guess I can take care of a chicken after all!"

"Oh Please Take Care of me!" Zhin said and looked down on her, but then saw a movement on the balcony.

It was Pip.

"Hey!" Zhin yelled.  
"Shit! She can't hear me! Yamina! Yamina!"

"What's gotten into- AHHHH!" Yamina flew forward when Pip tackled her, sending her crashing into the wall violently.

Zhin gasped.  
"YAMINA!" he said as he flew down, but was tackled by Pip.

"I got you now, pip!" Pip laughed as he raised his claws and pinned him down, "Sorry, pal, but money sure talks!" he showed his canines and lunged down.

"Get off him!" Yamina yelled and struck Pip with a mop.

"AGH! What the hell!?" Pip fell back, "You stupid stupid girl!" he shook his fist.

"Get out of here! I'm calling the police!" Yamina pointed at him.

"On such a daring guy like me?" Pip smirked, "You wouldn't. At least, not if I had anything to do with it."

"Yamina! Watch out!" Zhin yelled as Pip jumped on Yamina, struck her head on the wall, and touched her with the tip of his tail.  
"Oh no! Get away from her!" he flew into action and pecked Pip on the temple.

"Damn it!" Pip fell back, "Ha! It's too late anyways!" he told Zhin as he threw him aside.

"Chicken?" Yamina murmured as she saw Zhin fight Pip, but fell unconscious soon after and started to shrink and morph.

"No!" Zhin yelled, "Agh… It's my fault!" he glared at Pip.

"I get paid for getting two dinners? How great!" Pip laughed, "But let's get back to business… No hard feelings."

"You will pay for this, you miserly scoundrel…." Zhin turned to see Yamina was now a hen.  
"I'm sorry…" he murmured and turned to Pip.

"RAF!" Pip pounced and punted Zhin out the hall.  
"I'm going to get you!" he said.

"Not if I get you first!" Zhin yelled and jumped on the dinner table, making the chicken soup fall and hit Pip in the face.

"AHH!" Pip yelled and screamed in pain, "Damn it!"

"And go to hell!" Zhin flew down and dive bombed Pip out of the front window.

"You stupid!" Pip regained his sight and struck Zhin with a bag of tomatoes that was in the front porch.

"ACK!" Zhin fell back, his weak avian frame suffering greatly from the blunt attack, "Ha… Ha…"

"Take this!" Pip threw a tomato at Zhin, stunning him, "And now I get you all wrapped up and seasoned… Wait…" he sniffed his hand, "Blegh… Tomatoes… I hate tomatoes…" he shook his head.

"BAKAW!" Zhin suddenly cried out and dive bombed Pip again, but this time the two fell to the street below.

"OOF!" Pip groaned as his body hit the ground.  
"You stupid excuse for a dinner…" he slowly stood up to see Zhin on the ground covered in tomato juice.  
"Wait-"

Zhin's body started to morph again, growing larger each second.

"Wh-What's going on?" Pip stammered as Zhin started to get a more human-like appearance, until finally, he was.

"Ugh…" Zhin groaned and held his head, "What the..."

"H-H-How did you do that!?" Pip said as he saw the man Zhin standing before him.

"Zhin!" a voice called out.  
Lian was standing there with her arms crossed.

"Oh snap, that's the one…." Pip gulped when he saw the princess.

"Why are you messing about with dogs?" Lian looked at Pip, "Hurry, for I wish to reconcile… but my patience is thin."

"Lian.." Zhin looked at himself and saw he was covered in tomato, "Could this be what cured-" he saw Pip pounce on him again, "No!" he felt his tail.

"Huh!?" Lian saw Pip jump off Zhin's chest.

"Lian! Watch out! Don't let his tail touch-"

"GOTCHA!" Pip pounced on the princess and touched her with his tail.  
"Morrigan's Shift is embedded in my tail… And now nothing will save yours!"

Lian growled and called out Power Khan…  
But it didn't come out.

"Oh no no no… Here we go again…" Zhin closed his eyes, but nothing happened.  
"Huh? Is it…" he looked at the tomato bits again.

"Hey! What's going on!?" Lian gasped as she started to shrink and morph, "Zhin!"

"Lian!"

"BAKAW!" Lian's voice shifted to a more avian tone until the metamorphosis into a hen was completed.

"Finally…" Pip rubbed his hands.

"I'm a chicken!?" Lian gasped as she looked at her wings, "What- What did you do to my graceful form!?"

"My stand turns anyone who I touch with my tail into a weak chicken. All the easier to kill you!" Pip laughed and pounced on Lian.

However, Lian smacked him with her wing.

"OOF!" Pip fell back, "What?!"

"You took away my body so royale…" Lian grumbled, "And that really… really… ruffles my feathers…" she glared at him.

"W-What…." Pip stammered as Lian puffed up.

"BWAKABWAKABWAKABWAKABWAKABWAKA!" Lian screeched and slapped Pip with her wings, driving his head into the ground violently.

"No way. She can kick ass even as a chicken…" Zhin stood back.

"Agh…." Pip groaned when Lian stopped, "Oh… This wasn't worth it."

"Here Lian, help me test something out." Zhin walked over to the hen and slathered some of the left over tomato on her back.

"What do you think you're doin-" Lian stopped when she felt her strengths return to her, returning with her true human form.  
"Well Well."

"Ah crap…" Pip murmured and pounced, trying desperately to strike them with his tail again.

"RAH!" Power Khan appeared and protected its owner, driving the vulpin into the stone road.

"I have a bone to pick with him as well… doubly." Zhin walked up, "If you'll allow me, princess…" he bowed.

"Go ahead." Lian crossed her arms.

"Come on guys, no hard feelings…" Pip gulped as he wiped blood from his nose as he looked at the two.

 **000000000000**

Lian saw as Zhin grabbed a tomato and placed it on Yamina, who was still a chicken.  
"Why are you doing that? How do you know that is not just an ordinary chicken?" she asked.

"What kind of chicken goes into a bathroom?" Zhin shot back, but then remembered his whole experience, "You know what, ignore that question. I just need to do this, ok?"  
He used his hand to crush the tomato, spilling its chunks and juices on to Yamina.

Slowly, Yamina started to gain her form again.

"Wow." Lian's eyes opened as the woman lay before her, "How did she get brought up in this?"

"Eh…. Long story." Zhin shrugged his shoulders, "But I do owe her a debt." He sighed and looked at her face.

"Do you like her?" Lian asked.

"You're seriously asking me that?" Zhin smirked, "A beautiful woman? I love them to death… but…" he held Yamina's chin, "Something… I don't know what… I just can't seek any of that romance with her."

Lian saw as Zhin stood up.

"She's too pure for this world. She deserves something better than a wandering philanderer like me." Zhin sighed, "Plus, who would marry this." He pointed to himself.

"You have a point." Lian chuckled, getting a playful punch from Zhin.

"But she did help me… So I should repay her." Zhin walked up to the bath and dunked something into its waters.  
"I think this should be worth a pretty penny." He said, "I'm just going to leave a note with it."

 **000000000  
000000000**

Yamina woke up to find her house spotless and the time set in the morning after.  
"What… What happened?" she asked as she stood up and looked around, "Where's my chicken friend?" she said and walked into her house.

"Friend?" she called out, only to see a knife stuck into her dinner table with a note under it.  
"Huh?" Yamina mumbled and walked to it, then picked up the paper.

 _Thank you so much, my dearest Yamina.  
I write this with sadness in my heart, knowing I will never find someone as pure as you.  
For your help, I have left you something that should be very valuable to help you.  
Perhaps, if you had known me more… We….  
Well, regardless.  
Safe journeys and kindest regards._

 _Your friend,_

 _Zhin the Chicken_

Yamina smiled and looked down on the table.  
"Wow, this is so beautiful." She said and held up a pelt with shimmering golden fur.  
"Thank you… my prince in the chicken…"

* * *

 **Sorry for the wait everyone. I had been contemplating changing the course of this story a bit that's why it took so long to update.**

 **Thank you for all the constructive reviews and I hope you enjoy this fight!**


	19. Sha Lin Returns

**Lian's Peculiar Adventure: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 19**

 **Sha Lin and the Oracle Lamp**

* * *

"What is this hunk of garbage anyways?" Sha Lin asked as he looked at the metal lantern he stole from Seris.

"Did you say something, sir?" the carriage rider that was taking him on a ride asked through a small window.

"Nothing." Sha Lin responded as he looked at the item, "What does this even do? It looks like its for incense…" he grumbled as he saw some slight smoke come out of the small etchings on the sphere, "I do find it weird how the core is just floating."

The archer raised the lantern and looked at it.

"Eh, it's probably just a hunk of junk. Sucks, really." He sighed and lowered it, "Doesn't even look ancient. Probably only worth the metal."

However, the lantern started to hum and glow.

"Hmmm?" Sha Lin saw the purple light coming out of it, then a beam of darkness came out and struck his eyes.  
"Damn it!" he yelled and shook his head, "What the hell!?" he looked at the lantern again.

This time it was releasing more smoke.

"This damn thing is curse-" Sha Lin stopped when the vapor started to form an image, then a moving picture.  
It was all a dark silhouette, but it could still be made out.

It was a carriage riding along a dark road, at least that what he imagined the black moving figure with vague horse-like entities in front of it was. He saw this carriage come to a sudden stop and then 3 shadowy figures surrounded it. The figures vanished and another scene appeared in smoke that showed the carriage overturned with one figure standing above it holding something in his hand.

Sha Lin looked at the mist dumbfounded at he was beholding, only to stay that way when the mist and the light died down and the lantern returned to a lifeless canister of iron.

"What the hell was that?" Sha Lin shook his head and set the lantern back into his leather sack, "Must be some kind of magical projector thing… Maybe that ghost lady used it to entertain herself in that dark room. Who knows? Maybe I can get some magi to buy it." He shrugged his shoulders and set the sack to his right.

He hummed a simple melody as his carriage lumbered down what looked to be a small valley dotted with rocks and dead trees. He didn't pay mind to this, since he knew the further north one went eventually the grass will grow greener and the sky would grow brighter.

"That town…" Sha Lin recollected his time in Seris, "It feels… odd. Like it was cursed or something."

"Are you talking about Seris, sir?" the driver butted in, "Yes, they say that a terrible event happened long ago there and since then it has been blocked off to all except the greatest magicians in the Magistrate. Strange for you to come and sightsee it, only the oddballs of citizenry do that- You don't appear that way. I must say that the neighboring town is quite nice."

Sha Lin remembered his place of departure, where he met Seris.

"Yep, they bu- WOAH!" the driver yelled and the carriage came to a halt.

Sha Lin was almost ejected from his seat as the carriage rocked and creaked rather aggressively.

"Gorlocks!" The driver yelled as he reached for a shotgun behind his seat.

Sha Lin popped his head out the window and saw three of the scaly beasts blocking the path.

"Stay inside, sir!" the driver cried and he undid the horse tethers and kicked them away, causing the animals to bolt away from where they came from.

The gorlocks, however, were not distracted and kept their sights on the carriage.

"These must be experienced carriage raiders…" the driver said as he saw they were fixated on him, "Sir, this is going to get messy." He cocked his shotgun and aimed at the center gorlock.

Before he could fire, an arrow shot out of the right window and careened over the gorlock on the right, striking it in the neck and causing it to scamper in pain.

"What the-" the driver had no time to question before he had to fire at the center gorlock.

The gorlocks, livid at the attacks, charged.

"AHH!" The driver screamed as the beasts overturned the carriage, sending him tumbling into the ground and disarming him of his weapon.

The gorlocks screeched and charged at him.

"Oh gods, protect me!" the man pulled out a small pendant and clutched it to his face.

Suddenly, Sha Lin jumped out of the carriage from the window that was still open and clenched The Bow tightly.  
"Ready!?" he yelled and fired a rapid volley of arrows at pelted the beasts.

The gorlocks screeched and screamed as the arrows dug deep into their flesh, their marrows, and their bones until they screamed no more.

Sha Lin landed perfectly on the side of the carriage and stood triumphantly before the driver, holding The Bow high in the air.

"Oh yeah… I feel motivated!" he gave a grin and called away The Bow as he lowered his arm. He jumped off the carriage and landed near the driver before stopping and pondering.

The lantern.

The images on the lantern.

"No way…" Sha Lin mumbled to himself.

"Is there something wrong, lad?!" the driver stood up as he saw the man's once jovial attitude become rapidly distant.

"No way…" the archer ran and climbed up the carriage before jumping back in.

"What is going on…"

Sha Lin popped out a few moments later with the sack on his back and landed near the driver again. "There's no way this hunk of junk did that!" he gasped and pulled out Seris' lantern from within.

The driver saw as the archer beheld the artifact.  
"What is that? It looks like a lantern of some sort…"

"It's not just any lantern…" Sha Lin rubbed the dusty iron surface of the central orb, "I think… I think… No… I- It may be able to predict the future!" he exclaimed.

The driver stepped back, then scoffed in disbelief.  
"The adrenaline must have gotten to your head, boy, but I must thank you for saving my hide!" he ran and hugged him.

Sha Lin appreciated the gesture but quickly stepped aside and looked at the lantern yet again.  
"There's no way… It can't be."

"Are you still thinking it can look into the future?" the driver asked dismissively.

"It saw the gorlock attack." Sha Lin responded, causing the man's ears to perk up, "Minutes before it happened, this lantern showed a smoky vision of three figures surrounding a carriage before showing an overturned carriage with a man on top."

The driver paused when he remembered the sight of Sha Lin on top of the carriage.  
"There's just no way…"

Sha Lin was about to say something but was interrupted by the lantern glowing once again, catching both of their attentions fully.

The purple mist started to pour out of the crevices of the glowing iron orb and darkened into thick black smoke that formed small figures.

It was a noticeable woman figure guided by a male figure and they appeared to be arguing by the violent movements of the smoke. The smoke cleared out only to pop back up to show the same woman surrounded by two men with another man on the ground, and the movements showed the mood was noticeably calmer. This vision died down to show another of the woman now with one man walking towards a carriage, and once they entered that carriage started to rock in rhythm.

Sha Lin's eyes opened.  
The driver's peppered mustached curled up in interest.

"Ha ha ha ha!" Sha Lin rubbed his hands and looked at the Driver, "Oh this is going to be great. Did you see what I'm going to do with that woman?" he asked.

The driver shook his head.  
"I won't believe it until I see it." he said nonchalantly and walked towards his carriage, "Look at this mess… It'll take me a week to fix my livelihood." He sighed and kicked the dust beneath his feet.

Sha Lin put the now dull lantern back in his sack and placed his sack on his back, "Here, let me help you out." He said and walked up to the wagon, then used his might to tip it back over.

The driver stood in shock as one single man moved such a large vehicle.

"I used to be the arm-wrestling champion in my tribe." Sha Lin flexed his right bicep, "How else do you think I can hold up the weight of my daring escapades?" he grinned, then stopped.

The driver saw the man's jaw drop and turned around.

There was a beautiful black haired woman, and by beautiful it was meant beautiful. The hair that flowed from her head shone brightly despite its darkness and cascaded with the wind. Her face was soft and warm and inviting to her brilliant red lips. Her body was shapely and refined, holding a thin figure alongside the strong hips that made her an ideal candidate for bringing forth children.

"Y-Y-Your lantern said she…" the driver gulped as he took a long look at the woman, "I'm going to get in to the carriage with that fine creature?"

"Yeah…" Sha Lin sighed amorously, "Wait- Who said you!" he stopped and growled at the man.

"The smoke never showed who exactly was going into that carriage." The driver smirked, "It could be me."

"As if, you're 100 years old!" Sha Lin scoffed, "Plus, it's not like you're going to take out that soldier she's arguing with." He pointed.

The woman was arguing with a Magistrate soldier over something, but it could barely be overheard.

Sha Lin chuckled and walked over towards the bickering two, only for his driver to catch up to him. The two walked competitively, trying to outdo each other in both speed and stride as they made their way.

"Hrmm.." the driver growled and pushed Sha Lin, but the younger man returned the favor twice a powerfully.  
"Oof!" he grunted and fell to the ground.

Sha Lin used this to run up but stop a few meters away from the two.

"I won't help you with that ma'am, it's not in my orders! Plus, I cannot allow you to enter the town of Seris!" the soldier yelled at her, "It's against the Law!"

"I need to study it! I told you I went to Lang Mountain Magic Academy! I'm a professor there!" the woman pulled out a scroll, "My permission will come in any day now but I need to go in there before the storms come!"

"If do not have permission you cannot enter, that is final." The soldier crossed his arms and then turned to where Sha Lin, "By the gods!" he noticed the gorlock scene and ran to him, "Sir, what happened?!"

"Gorlock attack." Sha Lin responded, but kept his eyes on the woman, "Don't worry we took care of them- Well I took care of them." He chuckled and walked towards her, "Yep, all me!"

"You liar!" the driver came up, "I took them out with this shotgun, just like this!" he pointed the retrieved weapon.

"WATCH O-"

KAPOW! The shotgun fired and struck the soldier dead in the chest, killing him instantly and sending him crashing to the ground.

"AHHHH!" the woman shrieked in horror.

"What the hell!?" Sha Lin stepped back, "What was that about."

The driver stammered when he noticed what he had done, "It-It-It That was an accident, oh my gods I didn't mean to!"

The woman went silent, unmoving and looking at the distance, distant from the situation at hand.

"What's wrong with her?" the driver asked as he walked towards the woman, "Hey, Hey!" he waved his arms.

"Darling, hello!" Sha Lin pushed her, but the woman stood silent.

"What could be wrong with her." The driver asked as the two stood beside her.

"You killed a man in front of her, she's in shock!" Sha Lin growled and held her shoulders.

"I didn't do anything!" the driver said and accidentally pointed his shotgun at Sha Lin in his anger.

Big mistake.

An arrow went through his chest and sent him to the ground, he too was now expired.

Sha Lin panted heavily as he retracted The Bow back into his body.

The woman further panic and entered a mania where her body shook without control.

"Oh no no!" Sha Lin groaned and grabbed her, then walked towards the carriage, "I need to take you somewhere safer" he murmured.

The woman was convulsing rapidly in shock and it didn't help that she had seen to people die in front of her.

"You'll be alright, darling." Sha Lin opened the carriage and set her down on the ground.

"AHHHHHHH!" the woman gave out one large shriek and manically ran about inside the carriage, causing it to shake and quake in her attacks.

"What the!?" Sha Lin stepped out and shut the door behind him, "Oh no! This is the worst! I'm out of here!" he groaned and ran away.  
"I guess my predictions were wrong..." he murmured as he pulled out his lantern, "Perhaps it's vague on purpose… How sickening." He growled, "I thought I was going to get a good time too! Whatever, perhaps this will help me finally kill that group! I have the power to see the future! And no matter how unclear it is, there is always a strength in knowing the future!" he claimed.

"Oh, what a treasure!" he held up the lantern.


	20. GOD LOKI

**Lian's Peculiar Journey**

 **Chapter 20**

" **God Loki" Maeve**

* * *

"I am deeply sorry, everyone." Sarah told her allies as they all rode on a wagon, "I knew I should not have kept such powerful secrets from you all… but I felt it necessary at the time."

"I, for one, just wish you had more faith in us." Lian crossed her arms and looked away dejectedly, "We spent all this time bonding as pure strangers… risking our lives as such as well."

"I understand what you all must feel." Sarah looked down.

"Regardless, I believe you did it with prudence." Lex spoke, "But I still feel… disturbed."

"I know!" Moji shot up, "Why don't we tell each other secrets to even it out?"

The four humans looked at her.

"Y-y-you know… like… to get closer…" she stammered.

"That's silly." Lian scoffed.

"No no, the rabbit may be on to something." Zhin patted Moji's head, "Look, since we don't want to be secret keepers, why don't we lead by example? I'll even start. I've been wanting to lie with Lian for ages- OOF!"

"Be serious!" Sarah scowled.

"Alright." Zhin grumbled, "What can I say? I was a master criminal for 5 years… Assassinations were my forte. But I'm ok now guys, I left that long ago after my best friend was killed... I was betrayed."

"I guess I should add." Lex stopped the horses and looked at his allies, "I… I am actually somewhat attracted to this woman…"

"Really?" Sarah looked at him.

Lian looked to the sky.  
"What does she look like, Lex?"

"She… is very beautiful." Lex murmured, "Flowing hair… feminine features that are sublime… Thinly legs…"

"Thinly?" Lian snarled, "Lex!"

"That is a compliment, Lian." Lex chuckled, "but yes, I wish to know you more, Lian."

"Awww." Lian smiled.

"Ugh… Get a room." Zhin rolled his eyes, then saw something in the distance, "Say, that's the town we're supposed to reach, right?" he pointed to a formation in the horizon.

Lex turned.  
"Yes." He squinted and saw the figure in the noon sky, "Good, we were just running out of water too, right, Moji?"

"Yes." Moji said and patted a barrel, "Sounds hollow!"

0000000000

Lex stretched and while Lian, Sarah, Moji and Zhin scanned the landscape in front of the town's inn.  
The sun had just risen a few hours prior and provided well enough sunlight to allow our heroes the ability to look at the town without error.

"Let us make this day a prosperous one!" Sarah exclaimed as she bit down on her biscuit, "We should be on our way back on the trail right after we buy more supplies!"

"Yay!" Moji joyfully squeaked and kept a warm smile on her face.

"It's only one more town until we reach Hadea." Sarah told them, "That is the town closest to Seris. In fact, it is only separated from Seris by a huge wall."

"Did the Abyss pay for it?" Zhin joked.

Sarah ignored it and looked up at the sky, "We're almost about to get there… I cannot lie that I am a bit frightened by the mystery of my sister's potentially gruesome powers."

"You don't have to worry about her." Lian said, "Not when all of us will stop her."

Sarah smiled and looked at all of them.  
"I'm just so happy you all could help me on this journey. I was afraid I would have to face my sister alone… but to find people who are willing to sacrifice their safety and lives for the fate of The World…" she cried and ran to Zhin and Lian, hugging them tightly.

"There's still much work to be done!" Lex called out as he saw Sarah was pulling Zhin and Lian a bit too close for comfort.

The three separated.  
"You are right, Lex." Sarah awkwardly chuckled and rubbed the back of her head.

The Paladins looked at each other then turned to their surroundings.

"So…" Lian said, "This is the town, huh?" she added, trying to spark up a conversation after the odd event.

"Yes, it's the Town of…" Moji grapped a map from her satchel, "The Town of Mumana." She informed and pointed to a small name on the map, "It's only two towns away from Seris!"

Zhin nodded and walked past Lex, "Well, it's best we restock on supplies." He said, "I don't want to hear Sarah complaining about having no food for hours and hours." He chuckled.

Lex and Lian smiled.

Sarah frowned.  
"That was not funny, Zhin." She crossed her arms and picked up Moji, "I really was starving!"

"But you're always starving, Sarah." Moji spoke, "Why are you always so hungry."

"Because she burns all those calories with her fire stand." Lian joked as they made their way down the road, "Oh Lex, did you tell the innkeepers to watch our wagon?" she said.

"I did." Lex responded as he took a look at a group of locals traveling down with goods in their arms, "Hmmm. Perhaps they can show us where we can get supplies." He pointed at them.

"It looks like they came down from this road." Zhin told him, "I wouldn't doubt it as this is the main road of this town. Perhaps we should just stay on here and see if we find what we need." He looked around and saw that not many people were out.  
"It would be easy to get lost with so few people around."

"You speak wisely, Zhin." Lian smirked, "A first, really."

"Haha, mind your tongue princess, for I know the laws of the streets." Zhin responded, "Something your boyfriend cop here wouldn't understand."

"You are mistaken." Lex shook his head, "I have studied the patterns of criminals for years, there is no so-called 'street smarts' I am not aware of."

"Really now?" Zhin turned to look at him and stopped in his tracks, causing the lawman to bump into his body. "Are you sure about that?" he grinned.

"Yep," Lex said and pulled up a wallet, "Safe and sound."

"What?!" Zhin looked at his right hand and saw that the Lex's wallet was not in it, "That was just an easy one." He scoffed at his attempt to pickpocket and turned around, then looked at his wrist.

"I also have my badge in my possession as well, since you did try to take that." Lex's voice calmly spoke.

Zhin looked at his left hand and saw that Lex's badge was not in it.

"My my, such street smarts." Lian laughed and continued walking past with Sarah and Moji, "Looks like Lex sure is knowledgable." She smirked at the swordsman.

"Oh yeah?" Zhin picked up his pace, "What's the number one rule of eating on the street?"

"Never buy food from a Gongorian." Lex responded.

"If a Tigron merc-"

"Never purchase without checking their claws."

Zhin snarled, "Those of the Northern Keep-"

"Will challenge you to a drinking game on a Saturday Night." Lex sighed, "Zhin, I have patrolled the Entire Realm for years, do you think something vulgar would every leave my mind?"

"Give it up Zhin." Sarah frowned, "You don't want to taint Moji's innocence with your… criminality."

"I wish Moji would learn these things." Zhin crossed his arms, "Would help her a lot."

The four paladins sighed as they continued wandering through the town.  
Only to wander from morning until noon.  
A testament that they were lost.

"It doesn't look like there's anything around…" Moji grumbled, "I can't smell any food… or water… Except that taco stand we passed back there."

"Don't worry, Moji, I'm sure we'll find something soon." Sarah assured her as they walked through the busy town.  
"Right?" she turned to Lex, Lian, and Zhin for confirmation.

The three shrugged their shoulders.

"Wait!" Moji's ears perked up, "I smell food!" she nearly jumped out of Sarah's arms before calming herself down and pointing ahead.

Surely enough, there was a large mass of people around a certain area of the town.

"It looks like…" Lex squinted his eyes, "Like a market!" he announced, "Yes, there are stands everywhere, and it looks like there are food and water vendors as well."

"Why wouldn't they have this in a store?" Lian groaned.

"We're in the plains, princess." Zhin answered, "You can get more money setting up an area for the savannah tribes to come and visit to trade than you can having one establishment."

The five made their way into the market, were they saw that it was moderately packed with people and that there were all sorts of races and creatures found therein.  
What caught their attention was the large building at the center that was surrounded by a garden park.

"It seems this is the hub of the town." Lian said as she saw a group of dwarves walk away with sweet potato sacks, followed by a group of people just looking at stands.

Zhin used this opportunity to call out Thousand hands and poke an apple that was in a fruit stand and bring it to him.

"Zhin! That's theft!" Lex saw the action and pushed his ally from behind.

"Relax, cop man!" Zhin growled as he juggled his apple, "I left a tip!" he chuckled and pointed to Lex's wallet, which was dangling from the owner's belt with a small cut across it.

Lex grumbled.

"All for you." Zhin laughed and stopped in his tracks until he was next to Sarah and Moji, then handed the apple to the leipori.

"Aww, thanks Zhin!" Moji happily squeaked and took the apple, then bit on it.

"How kind." Sarah smiled, then saw the man use his stand again to poke a chicken leg, a sandwich, and a piece of beef jerky from subsequent stands, making a small kebab on the sword.

"For you." Zhin handed the leg to Sarah, "And you" he handed Lian the sandwich, "And you." He finally gave the piece of beef jerky.

His allies stood in their tracks.

"And what are you going to eat?" Lian asked as Zhin looked around.

"Easy…" the man responded as he spotted a camel standing nearby, then looked intently at a basket of watermelons that was hanging from the animal's left flank.

"That is theft, Zhin." Lex warned, "And that's not something from a vendor, so there can be no payment…"

"Relax…" Zhin scoffed, "They have plenty." He pointed at the other camels in front of the target, revealing it to be a caravan stocked with more food and items.

Thousand Hands came out and stabbed one of the watermelons in the basket, then swung its sword upwards and made the melon fly.

"Watch this." Zhin chuckled as he focused on the melon.

"Hey!" a voice called out, causing Zhin to look down and see a sight that almost floored him.  
It was the young woman from the chicken scene.

The four Paladins saw that Zhin was immobile and just staring at the woman.

"My melon!" the woman, Yamina, cried out as she looked at the melon descend from the sky, "Oh no! Father!" she held her head covering in fear.

"Zhin!" Lex finally yelled, "The melon!"

Zhin snapped back to reality.  
Looked at the melon, ooh there goes gravity!

"Hold on there!" he said and jumped up with the help of his stand and caught the melon midair within his robes, protecting it from breaking apart on impact.

Zhin landed on the ground near his allies and watched by all those within the perimeter, then he took a stand and brought out the watermelon from his robes.  
"Uh…" he gulped and looked at his friends, "Got it…"

"What happened there?" Sarah asked, quite concerned at the events.

"Yes, why did you zone out like that?" Lex walked up to him.

"Hello, excuse me." A familiar voice returned.  
Yamina walked up behind Zhin and stood to his right.

"You answer is here." Lian chuckled as Zhin turned to face the woman.

"What do you mean?" Moji asked inquisitively.

"Y-Y-Yamina!" Zhin stammered and brought up the melon, "Here! Here is the melon!" he handed it to her.

"Thank you so much, kind stranger!" Yamina smiled a bright smile as she took the melon, "Aww.. it has a hole in it." She commented when she saw the wound that Thousand Hands had caused, "Wait. How did you know my name?" he looked back up.

Zhin froze.

"Yamina! What's wrong?" another voice boomed, and a large, burly man with a full beard and an orange turban on his head walked up. He was dressed in a similar attire to Yamina, though his was for males and had a rustic orange hue to it.  
He was also older than the woman, but still taller than Zhin and Lex.

"Father, this man rescued our melon." Yamina exclaimed as she presented the good to the man, "I don't know what happened, it just flew up into the air and this man caught it."

The man smiled and turned to Zhin, noting he was the one that his daughter was speaking of, "My gratitude, kind stranger!" he belly laughed, ran to Zhin, and belly hugged him.

"HWAK!" Zhin groaned as he was crushed in the man's embrace.

"I am glad people from the East have shown themselves to be of such a kind heart." The man set Zhin down and bowed slightly, "Please, take it as a consolation." he grabbed the melon from Yamina's arms with one hand and presented it to Zhin.

"Uh.. uh…" Zhin stammered.

"Please, it's the least we can do for you." Yamina's father pressed his hospitality.  
"Please."

"Don't worry father." Yamina stepped up, "We have plenty to buy more since I sold that golden fur pelt." She held up a bag of coins that she had on her belt.

"What are your names?" Sarah took initiative as she noticed Zhin was faltering, "I am Sarah, this is my friend Zhin, and these are my friends Moji, Lex, and Lian." She smiled warmly at the man.

"My name is Abdalah, this is my daughter Yamina." The man presented himself, "We are travelers from a town in the west and have come to restock on supplies with my brother who lives here. And you all? Are you travelers as well?"

"Why yes we are, sir." Sarah responded as she fixed Moji's position, "We come from all the way from Aico." She informed.

"Aico?" Yamina pondered, "Father, that's all the way up north! By the Xiang Liang Mountains!" she exclaimed in shock.

"I have never been farther than the capital…" Abdalah pondered, "You all must be exhausted from such a long trip! Please, I can get my brother to provide goods for you!" he bowed again, "Please, come with me!"

"Thank you, kind sir!" Sarah bowed as well, then turned to her friends, "Are you guys ready to resupply? Oh, but we left the wagon!" she grumbled.

"Yeah, that's a bummer." Lian sighed, "I do not want to ruin my nails walking with all those materials."

"Oh Lian…" Sarah rolled her eyes and turned to Abdalah, only to see him gesturing to something behind him.  
"Sir-"

A servant came up with a medium sized wagon pulled by horses a few yards away to avoid entering the mass of people.

"Please, take it." Abdalah bowed, "It is my cousin's, and she does not need it any more… plus, I do not wish to take it with me all the way back home."

The Paladins were nearly floored by the action.

"What?!" Sarah stood with her mouth agape.

"It's smaller than our last one…" Lian said, only to receive an elbow to her side by Sarah, "I'm only joking!" she laughed.

"Please, it's all yours, minus the servant, he's mine!" Abdalah gave out another hearty laugh, "Come, I will take you to my brother's! He will stock it for you!" he said and started to make his way back from where he came.  
"Yamina, please watch the caravan." He told his daughter before turning to the Paladins.

"I think you should stay behind, Zhin." Lian commented, catching the ear of Abdalah despite the masses speaking around them.

"Huh?" Zhin turned to face her, then looked at Yamina, "I-I can't! I have to stay with you all-"

"I would be glad if you helped defend my daughter!" Abdalah interrupted and patted Zhin on the back, pushing the swordsman a bit forward due to his strength, "You seem like a man of valor and strength!"

"Zhin?" Lian nearly burst out laughing at the compliment.

"Come, let us go!" Abdalah took the reins and led the Paladins onward, leaving behind Zhin and Yamina by the caravan.

00000000

The Paladins and Abdalah arrived at a set of stands that all held the same designs and flags above their masts, signifying that this quarter fell under the same union.

"Wow…" Sarah said as she saw that all sorts of items were in these stands, ranging from tropical fruits like bom-bom melons to animals like gelyphant birds.

"Why don't merchants like this ever visit my Aico." Lian mumbled as she looked at a large exotic flower flowing from a hanging basket.

Abdalah kept his stately stride until he stopped in front of a large red tent, then signaled the Paladins to stop with his massive arm.  
"I will talk to my brother and he will provide all the food and water you need for your journey, all I ask is for 700 gold." He bowed.

Sarah gasped.  
"Only 700 gold!" she exclaimed, then pulled out her wallet, "Here you go!" she said merrily.

"Please, take a rest." Abdalah spoke and bowed, "My brother and his servants will take care of the loading and the goods." He entered the tent.

Sarah set down Moji and stretched her arms.  
"Well, what would you all like to do as we wait?" she asked, "I'm so excited, that man's positivity has lit up my Pyre energy!"

Lex nodded and looked around, "Perhaps we can visit that establishment, it looks like a place we can eat." He pointed to the building surrounded by gardens, which was a walking distance away.

"Sounds like a plan." Lian shrugged her shoulders.

The four walked towards the building but were stopped short when Moji (who was in front), looked towards one of the gardens.

A small building stood, and to her it smelled delicious.

"That smells like it is going to have some good food!" she pointed at the small shrine like structure and made her way towards it.

"Moji!" Sarah called out, but had no choice but to follow. Lex and Lian shrugged their shoulders and followed suit.  
The four Paladins walked up to the building and entered, then saw that it only had one small bar stand and a few people sitting at different tables inside.

Lex's attention immediately turned to one of the people by a table that faced an opening to the gardens.  
It was a child.

"Excuse me!" he raised his voice and pointed at the bartender, "It's against the law to allow a child into an establishment with alcohol!"

The bartender scoffed at him and continued serving a woman at the bar.

Lex snarled and walked over to the young girl.

It was a young girl of short stature with pink hair, a raggedy blue trench coat, and a beige shirt. She was very small, but she had a very mature look about her. Her blue eyes nearly shone in the darkness.

"I'm taking you out of here, girl." Lex told her, "Where are your parents?" he asked.

"I am an orphan." The girl responded and looked at Lex with sadness on her face, "I don't have any parents… I am staying here to cool off from the sun."

Lex calmed down a bit as he noticed the girl's attitude was sincere.  
"I'm sorry, but you can't be here, I can escort you to a safer place." He said as he was finally joined by Lian, Sarah, and Moji.

"Ok… But can I get a glass of water first?" the girl asked, her tender face making sweet work of her accented voice.

Lex nodded and turned to glare at the bartender.  
"You!" he pointed at him.

"Here you go." The bartender sighed and walked over to the four with a pitcher of water and a glass, filling it up as he arrived.

Sarah stood perplexed at the trivial attitude of the bartender but ignored it as Lex grabbed the glass of water.

"Here you go, miss." Lex turned and handed the glass to the girl.

"Will you play a game with me before I go?" the girl asked innocently before she took a drink.

Lex mumbled uneasily but was silently urged by Lian and Sarah to do so.  
"Very well, what do you wish to play?" he murmured.

The girl's face lit up.  
"Rock-Paper-Scissors!" she balled up her right hand while cupping it with her left.

"Ok." Lex sighed and gave a small smile to Lian, "Here we go." He motioned his hands.

"Rock. Paper. Scissors!" the two did the motion, and Lex lost with paper against the girl's scissors.

"How fun!" the girl giggled, "Let's play a game with this! I bet that if you win 5 out of 6, I'll give you a candy!" she pointed at a small bowl of at the bar.

"Aww, how cute." Sarah smiled, "Lex, look at her." She said, "She really wants to play with you."

"Come on Lex, you at least have to be nice." Lian chuckled, "No more bad cop from now on, ok?"

"Very well." Lex sighed and turned to the girl.

They played again.  
Lex's paper lost to the girl's scissors again.

"You're really bad at this." Lian smiled.

Lex went up again, this time losing to the girl's rock as scissors.

"I never really had time for such pleasantries." Lex mumbled.

"You must have been a child once upon a time, Lex." Sarah laughed, "It's not like you were born a cop."

Lex nodded and lost to the girl's paper.  
"I'm almost out." he told the girl, "What do I owe you if I lose?" he asked.

"Your soul." The girl responded very nonchalantly and with a happy smile.

Thinking she was just goofing off, Lex just shrugged off the comment, as did Lian, Sarah, and Moji, the latter thinking it was a quite a funny comment.

"Ok." Lex chuckled and did the motions.

"Rock. Paper. Scissors!" the two played.

Lex had lost yet again, this time to the girl's rock.

"It appears I have been defeated." He spoke as he gave out a huff of air.

"Oh phooey." Lian smiled, "I guess you lose, Lex. Time to pay." She said jokingly and patted the officer's back.

"Yes you do…" the girl's voice became rather stranger, causing the four to turn and face her.

"What?" Lex saw as the girl stood up and pointed at him.

"You lost, Lex." The girl continued, "Fair and square, you even admitted too."

Lex stepped back, "How did you know my name!?" he started to get cautious.

The girl laughed and started to glow eerily.

Lian saw that the people inside the bar started to leave, save the bartender.  
"What's going on!?" she growled and thought of bringing out Power Khan.

"I'm afraid that's a wager you'll live to pay!" the girl laughed.

Suddenly, a figure appeared from behind her.  
A small imp like creature with purple skin and glowing orange horns.

"Is that-" Sarah was interrupted when the figure lunged at Lex and reappeared behind him.

However, the figure was holding a golden ghostly manifestation of Lex in its arms.

"What the hell!?" Lian gasped as the figure laughed as it held the manifestation in its grasp, "What are you doing!?" she turned to face the girl.

"That-That's!" Sarah stammered, "Lex's Soul!" she used the Pyre to look at the phenomena.

Lex's lifeless body fell to the ground, his eyes white with death and his mouth open and expressionless.

"LEX!" Lian yelled and picked him up, "You bastard!" she called out Power Khan and charged at the girl.

"Hold on, sweet cakes!" the girl laughed, "If you kill me, Lex shares the same fate! He has wagered his soul and lost, I am only taking what is mine by the power of my Stand.  
LOKI'S SLEIGHT!"

Lian and Sarah gasped as Moji hid behind Lian's leg.

"You're a stand user!?" Sarah pointed at her "You must be with my sister, Seris!"

"Yes, she saw great potential in me… I'm sorry, I fail to introduce myself." The girl bowed, "I am Maeve, and thanks to Seris I will defeat you all and will gain a great reward!" she laughed as her stand dragged Lex's soul into a purple gem she had pulled out from her pocket.

After cramming the soul into the gem, Maeve's stand disappeared behind its user in a tuft of purple smoke.

"If you want to save your friend, you only have to wager the same." Maeve giggled as she showed them the gem, which contained Lex's sleeping spiritual face inside surrounded by purple smoke.  
"Defeat me in a game and gain him back but lose and I will have your souls as well."

The atmosphere became tense as Maeve put the gem on the table and nonchalantly sat back down.

"The wager is open; will you take it?"


	21. GOD LOKI PART II

**Lian's Peculiar Journey**

 **Chapter 21**

 **Gambler Maeve**

* * *

Zhin silently stood next to the camel with the melon, whistling a small tune to himself as he looked at the crowds around him. It was obvious he was trying to ignore Yamina, who was discussing with one of her father's servants over some innocuous wooden chest.

"Hmm." He murmured and turned to see the woman walk towards him, only to turn back to the crowds.

"I think you can go with your friends." Yamina spoke as she stood to his right, "I can defend myself very well now."

"Hm?" Zhin turned to face her, but saw her face and darted his eyes to his upper left, "Oh really?"

"Uh huh. Take a look at this." The woman lowly spoke and turned to a point where the box in her hands was hidden from the crowds, then slowly opened it.

Zhin looked into the box and saw an old revolver with crystal bullets to its right by the wooden grip.  
"Yamina? Is this?"

"I can take care of myself." Yamina said with intent, but was still rather innocent in her aura, "You can go with your friends, I know you miss them."

"No way! I mean! No!" Zhin shook his head and pointed at her.

"Why not?" Yamina tilted her head in confusion, "You showed much shock when you found out you were going to be away from them. Do you not wish to see them?"

"It's not that I-"

"HAHA!" a man suddenly bumped in to Yamina, snatching the box in her hand in one fell swoop.

Yamina fell to her ground on her bottom.  
"AH!" she screamed.

"Yamina!" some of the servants ran to her side.  
"Y-Yamina!" Zhin joined them, but all of them stopped when they saw the thief pull out the revolver from the gun.

The people around them started to scream and run away from the scene, and some vendors even hid behind their stands and stock.

"Alright, everyone, hand over the goods." The thief said and moved the gun, pointing at all of them in a fluid scanning motion, "All that's on that camel put it in this sack!" he threw a brown bag in front of them.

Zhin stood up straight and faced the thief.  
"Try it." he crossed his arms and blocked the gun from Yamina.

"I said give me the stuff." The thief snarled and pointed the gun at him.

"No." Zhin defiantly responded, "Even if I did want to give it to you, it is not mine, it is Yamina's."

"I don't give a damn what who it belongs to because it's mine now!" the thief yelled and pulled the trigger and fired three rounds.

"Zhin!" Yamina jumped up and grabbed hold of the swordsman from the waist.

"Yamina!" Zhin yelped in shock but managed to call out Thousand Hands regardless and push her away with it.  
However, with this interruption, one bullet still managed to escape the stand when it turned to cut the deadly projectiles to pieces.  
"Hwak!" he groaned when the bullet penetrated his robes and stuck him in the lower abdomen, "I'll kill you for that!"

Thousand Hands charged and cut the thief's firing hand off, causing the weapon and the body part to tumble down into the sand and the man to scream in pain. The stand then stabbed the man in the heart and pulled away back into its user.

The thief fell to the ground dead, much to the shock of the few remaining people around, Yamina, and her father's servants.

"Ha… Ha…" Zhin panted as he felt the sting of the bullet buried deep inside him, then called out Thousand Hands again and stabbed himself in area where the wound was located.

"Zhin, are you ok-"

"Stand back!" he responded and pushed Yamina away as his stand pulled out the bullet with the tip of its sword, "Ha…" the swordsman breathed out as he made his stand throw the bullet away.

00000000

00000000

Maeve grinned as she spun the gem that held Lex's soul on the table. Her delicate yet toiled fingers moved fluidly with each rotation, further increasing the item's speed.

"Hrrr…" Lian growled as she used all her control to hold back Power Khan from knocking the girl's teeth out, "What do you want to do, stupid girl?" she sat down and clenched her fists.

Maeve stopped spinning the gem and turned her attention to the new face.  
"I said that you would need to wager something of equal or greater value for Lex's soul… or to put it simply for you idiot, a soul for a soul."

Lian snarled and crossed her arms.

"To think a stand having the ability to control souls…" Sarah murmured as she picked up Moji, "I thought that was only in the realm of the gods…"

"Well then, I must be a godly woman, then." Maeven giggled as she brought out her stand again, "Loki's Wager cannot be defeated by simple fists and kicks… It take a more perceptive mind to do so, it takes real skill!"

Lian looked at the stand with hatred, "If your stand is so invincible, why are you serving Seris then? You could have easily taken her soul with your cunning."

"Trying to charm me, are you?" Maeve chuckled, "I see you are trying to derail just in case we play another game."

"No, just stating the facts." Lian shrugged her shoulders and huffed, "If I had such an overwhelming stand I would not even fathom the thought of serving others."

"Very well, to carry on to our game I will admit that Seris has a great and powerful stand. Something even I couldn't imagine upon hearing and seeing for myself!" Maeve exclaimed with a hint of childlike wonder, "Seris and her stand are such a marvel that even the power to remove souls pales to her."

"So you know the secret to Seris' Stand?" Sarah asked.

Maeve turned her attention to the woman, "Why yes I do, I have seen it with these eyes…" she showed off her nearly incandescent blue eyes.  
"Though, for me to tell you, you would have to win a bet, as that secret is worth more than my life itself."

Lian turned to Sarah.  
"Very well, Me-Vee." She mispronounced her name, "I'll bet my soul or whatever you want in exchange for Lex's soul and the secret to that Seris' stand."

"No way, kitten." Maeve shook her head, "Uneven. Bet something more."

"Like what?" Lian scoffed.

"How about the new face in your gang? Madame Seris has told me that she has felt the disturbance of a person in your cohort." Maeve put her chin on her hand, "That will be a purrfect trade."

Lian nodded.  
"Very well. Now to the game." She pointed at her, "One that is very popular in Aico. Do you have a deck of cards?"

Maeve opened her trenchcoat and pulled out a deck of cards from the left flap. "Any game you want to play, kitten, I have it."

"Then let's play Aico's Court." Lian responded as Maeve nodded in agreement and started to shuffle the deck, "Best out of 3."

"Whatever you ask me to play, I can play it." Maeve answered as she set the deck down on the table.

"Just to make sure you aren't cheating me." Lian called out Power Khan and made it grab the deck. The stand quickly set all 52 cards face up on the table. Lian used Power Khan's sight to quickly scan all the cards.  
"It seems the Emperor, the Empress, the Prophet, the Knight, and the Princess are all there, so is the fool. No games from anyone."

The cards had those given characters with a variety of symbols such as leafs, a stone, a flame, a drop of water, a star, and a dark mass."

Power Khan grabbed the deck again and reshuffled it, then showed its hands to Maeve when it was done.

"Just so you don't accuse me of cheating." Lian added and recalled Power Khan.

"Very well." Maeve nodded and reached for some cards.

Power Khan's head reappeared atop Lian's own, watching the girl's hand movements carefully.

"There we go, five cards." Maeve showed the back of her selection and set her five cards face down on table.

"How does this game work?" Moji finally piped up, looking at Sarah and then at Lian before averting her gaze from Maeve.

"You're supposed to get the most of the Court Cards." Lian responded as she got her 5 cards from the deck and set them down on the table, "The court cards are The Emperor, The Empress, The Prophet, The Knight, and The Princess. If you have the most of each by singles or by multiples according to their heirachy you win. An example is if you have three princesses and your opponent has three knights, or prophets, or Empresses, or Emperors, you lose. However, if they are tied, let's say if both have three knights, then the winner is decided by the second highest card. The fool can be any of the court cards if you need to make a streak. I used to play this game all the time with my nursemaid when I my parents were away."

"Enough stories." Maeve grumbled and set out two cards to her left, "I give up these two cards to draw two more." She said and grabbed two more from the deck, "Do you wish to do the same?"

Lian looked at her cards again and nodded.  
"I'll remove one." She said and pulled out a Princess of Flames card and set it face down, then grabbed a card from the deck.

"Very well, let's see what we have." Maeve grinned and set down her hand.

It had two princesses, two kings, and a Knight.  
Lian set her hand down at the same time and it was revealed that she had two kings, a queen, a princess, and Prophet.

"Looks like you lose." Maeve laughed and set the used cards aside, "Guess I have one for me."

Lian crossed her arms and shook her head, "Just a small misstep." She said and reached for her cards, then waited for Maeve to get her own.

"Are you confident about this, Lian?" Sarah asked Lian as she nervously looked Maeve, who was looking at her hand and smiling.

"Try looking into her soul." Lian responded as she took off two cards from her hand.

"The Pyre doesn't work that way, Lian." Sarah whispered, "I can only see the intentions or the emotions of a person, not what they're actually thinking.

"Excuse me." Maeve interrupted as she set aside three cards, "Are you lost already?" she smirked and grabbed three cards from the deck.

Lian grunted.  
"Some help you are…" she set the two rejected cards away and grabbed two more, "Very well, Maeve, let's draw!"

The two revealed their hand.

Maeve had gotten a junk of all the court cards (minus the Fool) while Lian scraped by with Two Knights.

"Viola." Lian smiled and set aside the used cards. "It seems the game is matched." She looked at Lex's lifeless body that was laying to her left-hand side.  
"This is for you, Lex." She said and grabbed a new hand.

Maeve did the same.  
However, her stand appeared and started to talk to her.

Lian, Sarah, and Moji looked at her in curiosity.

Maeve snickered as her stand made it's way above the table. "It seems my stand has noticed and uncertainty in your previous victory." She informed.

"Hmm?" Lian looked at her incredulously.

"In the spirit of a fare wager, no cheating will be allowed." Maeve stood up from her seat and pointed at Sarah, "That being, you cannot ask your friend there for help in this game! My Stand will make the appropriate actions be taken!"

Loki's Sleight pointed at its owner and raised the two fingers on its right hand.

"It seems I am winning now." Maeve crossed her arms as her stand retracted back into her, "2 to 0…"

"WHAT!?" Sarah yelled, "How- You can't be serious!?"

"As serious as a heart attack, kitten." Maeve chuckled, "In the eyes of my stand, I am the victor of the last round because Lian asked for outside influence in order to win!"

Lian snarled and raised her hand at Sarah, who was about to mouth off the girl.  
"Very well, it seems I underestimated your stand's abilities. I will not make the same mistake, nor will I lose!" she said and looked at her cards.

Maeve released four of her cards and grabbed four in turn.  
Lian kept her hand just as it was.

"Hmm? Are you not going to change cards?" Maeve asked as Lian kept her cards firm in her hand.

Lian kept her gaze fixated on her.

"Really? Well it's your loss." Maeve smiled and set down her hand.

Three Knights and Two Queens.

"What of your hand-"

Lian sprung up from her seat and called out Power Khan.  
"YOU DISHONEST WENCH!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

Maeve stood back up and faced Power Khan defiantly as she took out Loki's Sleight.

"I'll destroy your stand!" Lian gnashed her teeth and directed her stand to attack.

"RAH!" Power Khan raised its fist and punched Loki's Wager, but the most surprising thing happened.  
The fist went through the enemy stand like a stone through water.

Maeve chuckled and made her stand phase through Power Khan.  
"You fool! Once defeat has been ensured there is nothing that can stop the wager from being collected!"

Loki's Sleight giggled as it hovered over Lian and swiped its right hand across her forehead.

"First order of business." Maeve saw as he stand raised what appeared to be a white orb on its hand, "The information on the new member of your clique." She laughed as the orb expanded until it showed a view from Lian's point of view of when they encountered Yamina in the market.

Maeve looked at Yamina as she interacted with members of the Paladins, especially Zhin. She saw her movements and her mannerism.  
Most importantly, however, she was looking for the existence of a stand.

Sarah and Moji stood there silently as the seemingly unconscious Lian slumped over on the table and Power Khan disappeared.

"Lian!" Moji squeaked as she jumped from Sarah's arms unto the table, where she then shook her the woman's head.  
"Lian, are you ok! Please, say something." She murmured.

Lian still had some color in her, unlike Lex, showing that she was very much alive.

"Oh…" Moji murmured, then felt a strange sensation under her feet.  
It was Lian's cards.  
Three Princesses and Two Kings.

"She lost against the knights." Sarah murmured as she grabbed hold of the cards and solemnly placed them on her chest.  
"Lian…" she started to cry.

Maeve sighed and shook her head when the memory faded from her stand's hand.  
"It seems this newcomer will not be a threat to me or Seris." She chuckled, "Now, for the other end of the bargain!"

Loki's Sleight went through Lian and came out from behind holding her Soul and laughing manically.

Maeve smirked and pulled out another gem, which her stand instinctively cast the soul into.

There stood Sarah, looking at the motionless and lifeless body of Lian slumped over the table. A burning fire raged within her bosom as she tried to hold back mixed emotions of rage, hatred, despair, loss, and sadness.

She felt the Pyre energy within her surge erratically through her blood and caused her to space out from this current situation.  
Her mind moved to that dreaded scene.

It was her sister, cloaked in shadows, standing at the top of a stone staircase inside an abandoned fortress shrouded in darkness. The woman was covered by a cowl but had her chest and abdomen scantily exposed, having only a brown corset-like clothing over it. Her left leg was exposed all the way to the waist, but the rest was covered by a long dark gown. She had her back to Sarah, covering the little face that was exposed by the faint candlelight of the nearby walls with her pale white hand.

"Welcome Back, Sister…." Seris' lowly voice spoke, echoing through the lifeless halls of the fortress.

"Y-You killed him!" Sarah yelled, "How could you do this! You know how much he meant to me!"

Seris visibly recoiled at that sentence but kept her back to her sister.  
"I know." She spoke without a hint of remorse or emotion as purple mist trickled down the stairs.

Sarah clenched her fists, then noticed that her hands were glowing.  
"Is this…"

"This is not a memory." Seris interrupted her, "I was surprised too by your sudden appearance. I did not believe the retched Pyre hand the ability of prescience."

A dark figure stood by her side. A male of unknown appearance but was of strong stature, standing a head over Seris.

"Should I destroy her?" the man asked as another shadowy apparition formed behind him.

"Useless." Seris responded, her back still towards Sarah but now facing the man, "That is merely a projection made by that silly Pyre of hers. But I know it is a rare intrusion, one that was only possible due to proximity and relationship. Only the Abyss has the power of allsight beyond the realm of even this world."

"Yet here you are, hiding from the thing even the weakest of creatures enjoy!" Sarah pointed to a heavily covered up window, "In your search for strength, you became weak. For all that talk of the Abyss's power, I never once seen you face us."

Seris chuckled and sighed.  
"We will soon see who is weak, sister…" she spoke as the vision started to fade away, "We will soon see."

Sarah returned to normal and saw Maeve staring at her with a bored look on her face.

"Hello, are you lost?" the girl said as she set down Lian's soul's gem on the table.

Sarah looked at her with deep scorn.  
"Let us play a game." She said and took out a bar of chocolate to eat, "I'm sorry, these shenanigans make me a bit hungry."

Maeve smirked.  
"At least save some for me. What are we playing?" she asked.

Sarah did not speak but instead filled a glass halfway with water and set it on the middle of the table.  
"Let's play Spill-Out." She finally spoke and crossed her hands.

"What's that?" Maeve pondered.

"Oh, you're too young to know that." Sarah scoffed, "It's an old game."

"You don't look too old yourself." Maeve sighed, "But pray tell, what is this game about?"

"Do you have coins or poker chips? Something of equal weight?" Sarah asked.

Maeve pulled out a set of poker chips from her trench coat and had her stand hold them in its hand.  
"My stand automatically follows the rules of the game. Rest assured that these all weigh the same. On my word."

Sarah used her Pyre energy to look into Maeve's soul and saw she was telling the truth.  
"Very well, I would normally distrust the words of a thief, but I will make an exception for you. Seeing that that stand of yours is fair and will follow the rules, the rules of this game are simple, we both put in one of these chips turn after turn until the cup runneth over as they say." She explained the game, "Whoever makes the water spill out loses the game. Are you ready?"

Maeve shook her head and called out her stand.  
Loki's Wager hovered over the glass of water and observed it, then swiped at it and removed a tiny orb of water, no wider than a fingertip, and cast it to the wall.

"Now it's truly half the glass." The girl said and looked at the poker chips, "Who goes first? Wait! The wager! What are you going to bet and for what? If it is your soul, Seris will be more than pleased."

Sarah shook her head.  
"Very well. I bet my soul in for Lex's and Lian's since mine is so precious." She spoke, causing Maeve's ears to perk up, "I will take no less for it."

Maeve snarled, but remembered her mission.  
"Okay! Then Open the Game!" she said and grabbed a poker chip.

Sarah grabbed her poker chip.  
"I will go first." She said and dropped the poker chip into the water, causing it to rise up.

Maeve giggled and dropped in her own, causing the water to rise up even more.

Sarah continued her action, as did Maeve.

Moji gulped as the water kept rising and rising.  
"Are you sure about this, Ms. Sarah?" she asked her and tugged on her sleeve.

"I played this game with… her…. All the time…" Sarah said as Maeve dropped in another chip, "You know all about her, don't you, Maeve?" she asked the girl.

"Yes, I do know some about her."

"You should know you are being used." Sarah commented as she dropped a chip, "Once she finds out you are no longer useful, she will get rid of you. She doesn't care about anyone but herself."

"Sound like a personal problem, kitten." Maeve chuckled and saw that Furious Flame was out and standing behind Sarah, "And your stand? Why is it out?"

"I want to ask you this, Maeve." Sarah leaned in and bit on her chocolate bar before putting it in her satchel, "Do you know the secret to Seris' stand?"

Maeve shook her head.  
"I don't. It was never revealed to me, at least I think it wasn't." she chuckled and dropped in a chip."

Sarah used Furious Flame to look into her soul.  
"Why do you lie to me, Maeve?" she asked.

Maeve felt a heat coming from Sarah, and thinking it was her burning nature, shrugged it off.  
"Why do you say that?"

"The Pyre has the ability to scour the souls of men." Sarah dropped a chip, "I know your intentions, Maeve. You soul shows lies. Plus, you told Lian prior that you knew the stand's power."

"A simple fib to get her to play." Maeve chuckled, but the Pyre revealed a sickly green color to her soul, signifying dishonesty.

"Then that means you were cheating prior?" Sarah's voice rose.

Maeve looked up.  
She started to sweat, her body started to get hot with shock.

She knew she had been found out, as if she had lied her stand would have caught the dishonest wager and punished her… but it didn't.

"Very well, I do know the secret to Seris' stand." She confessed, "But what is it to you? Do you really think that even with that knowledge you can defeat her?"

Sarah shook her head.  
"Absolutely, and it's only fair that we know her powers since she knows ours." She shook her head and set down another chip.

The cup was now three fourths full.

"For that knowledge I'd like to place a wager." Sarah continued and turned her attention to Maeve, who was visibly upset.

"You already know that knowledge is worth more than my life." Maeve responded.

"In the eyes of Seris, anything is worth more than your life." Sarah commented, "But I will wager this for the secret to Seris' stand. I wager Moji's soul!" she pointed at the Leipori by her side.

"Ms. Sarah!" Moji screamed in horror, "No! You can't be doing that!"

"Yes! I am!" Sarah exclaimed and pointed at Maeve before dropping another chip, "And not only that, I bet Zhin's soul as well!"

Maeve gasped in shock at Sarah's boldness, but then looked at the glass.  
It appeared that, by her calculations, the water would never spill on her turn. She was so confident in her abilities that the thought of defeat removed itself from her mind.  
She had already defeated a lawman and a princess, why couldn't she defeat this simple woman?

"Very well, kitten. I will defeat your little brigade in one fell swoop! Even if I don't get the soul from that desert woman, she doesn't even have a stand!" she giggled.

Sarah smiled as Moji shook in fright.

"Ms. Sarah!" the leipori cried out, "No!"

"Trust me, Moji, I have this!" Sarah dropped in another chip.

The glass was precariously close to being full.  
And it was Maeve's chip that further sealed the deal.

"Honhonhonhonhon!" Maeve laughed as the water was near set on spilling over.

Sarah ignored this and set her chip down.

Nearer the water came to the top.

Moji was nearly fainting.

Maeve dropped her chip.

Sara followed.

Water was on the brim.

Maeve dropped another.

"Ms. Sarah! The water!" Moji jumped in Sarah's arms, "It's almost out!"

"Hmmm…" Sarah used Furious Flame to look into Maeve's soul again and saw that it was glowing and radiant.  
"Feeling confident?"

"Yes, because you will lose! Honhonhonhon!" Maeve giggled in joy.

Sarah smirked and put her chip over the water.

Moji panted.  
"Ms. Sarah…" she looked at the bodies of Lex and Lian, ad then thought of Zhin.

"Trust me, Moji." Sarah nodded and dropped it.

The water did not spill out.

Maeve gasped.  
"What?" she yelled.

"Your turn." Sarah chuckled and looked at her before looking into her soul.  
It was now a raging mix of all flaming colors.  
"Scared?"

"N-N-No!" Maeve stammered as she grabbed her chip and made it hover over the glass, "I-I-I…." she muttered.  
She dropped it in.

Water flowed out.

Moji gasped.  
Sarah smiled.

Maeve shrieked in horror as her stand came out of her and grabbed the two gems on the table.

"WAGER OKAY!" Loki's Sleight spoke and threw the two gems at their respective persons, causing the souls therein to come out and flow into their bodies.

"No! No! No!" Maeve cried out to her stand as it turned to her, "I cannot give her the secret to Seris!" she freaked out and looked around, then spotted two kitchen knives at the bar.

"Huh?" Sarah turned to see where she was facing.  
"Moji! Stop her!"

Moji was too late, as Maeve had used her wily speed to jump over her own stand and the two and land on the bar in a pounce, then grabbed the knife and stabbed herself in the chest.

The bartender ran out in horror.

Sarah gasped.

Loki's Wager disappeared into nothing.

"Oh my Pyre!" Sarah ran to Maeve's side and looked at her soul.  
Gone.

 **0000000**

"What happened?" Lian and Lex groaned as the four walked out of the bar.

Sarah and Moji did not respond.


	22. Straight from the Underground

**Lian's Peculiar Journey**

 **Chapter 22**

 **Straight from the Underground**

* * *

Seris solemnly stood alone in the darkness of the abandoned fortress she resided in, not speaking at all as she looked at the dark corner of what was her lavish bedroom.

To her left was her Victorian-esque bed covered with purple linens and dark pillows and surrounded by elegant candlesticks and crystal powered lights.

There were no windows in this room, and it had decorated walls adorned with abstract paintings of dark colours and morbid themes such as skeletons, souls, and phantoms.

There was one portrait, however, that took a special prominence in the room.  
A portrait of a man with flowing white hair, and below it a table adorned with beautiful candelabras and wilted flowers.

There was a knock on the dark oak door behind the woman, and a cloaked man walked in and bowed.

"Seris."

"I know." Seris responded as she held her exposed neck. In fact, the only thing she was wearing was a bounding cloth across her chest and a thin veil skirt to cover her waist area and her legs.

The man stood straight up.  
"Whatever it takes, we can stop them."

"Stopping them isn't part of the plan." Seris responded, "I need them. In the end, she will come to me… dead or alive." she murmured and rubbed her shoulder.

Stretching down from her shoulder all the way to her waist were burn marks that scarred her body. Some of these scars raced around and curved in a way that made her appear that she had suffered an attack from a whip.

"The blood from normal men is not enough for me." Seris continued as she kicked aside a leg into a dark part of her room. She walked towards one of her lighted stone desks and grabbed the bronze bowl that was found atop it.  
Inside this bowl was a dark red liquid which Seris put her hand over. A faint purple glow overcame her arm and after a low hum and an intensity in the glow, the liquid inside was gone.

"You said you required the blood of Sarah… your sister." The man spoke as he walked up to Seris and took the bowl from her hands.

"Not only her blood." Seris responded, "How could you forget so easily?" she grumbled and walked over to her bed.  
"Regardless, without it, I can never fulfill the true reality of my stand."

A ghostly figure appeared behind her, dark and covered by the shadows that surrounded them.

"You were never one to proclaim weakness." The man returned to Seris' side and down on the bed before her, "What do these lowlifes have that they bring this out?"

The ghostly figure grabbed the man by the throat and choked him.

"Don't you dare imply I am crying out in fear." Seris coldly retorted and called away her stand, then sat next to him, "I am merely stating reality." She added.

The man cleared his throat and sat back down as the ghostly figure disappeared.  
"My apologies."

"I have already lost most of my Abyssal powers." Seris spoke as the glow in her arms was minimal, no matter how much she concentrated on intensifying it.  
"I am not afraid, however, as my stand can and will consume them all."

"Your stand is the most powerful I've ever laid my eyes on." The man told her as he placed his left hand over her right.  
"I have no doubt you have the might to destroy them and take what is rightfully yours."

Seris looked at the man and nodded.  
"And I have no doubt you will serve me along the way." She said and reached for his other hand.

"Whatever you require, I will stand by your side as the world becomes yours." The man said as he neared her.

"Then you shall call our beloveds, prepare them for our guests." Seris spoke, "Our destiny is at our doorstep. I highly doubt that fool with the bow will get rid of them, and I only have you and one guard here…"

"Who is that other guard?" the man asked.

Seris chuckled and whistled a somber tone.

A flap of wings was heard throughout the empty fortress, the rustling of feathers, and finally a horrid screech as something came through the doorway.

Seris extended her arm, and something rapidly flew past it.

The man nodded in understanding as Seris's arm came clean off and tumbled to the ground.

The flapping of wings slowed until the figure rested and came under the light of the candles.  
It was a red bird, crowned with upright feathers at the head. It had a beige underbelly with golden feathers, and its legs were covered with shin guards made of bronze. On its sharp beak was a silver guard that extended a few millimeters outward into a sharp blade.

"This is a pet I received from one of our servants." Seris spoke as she picked up her arm and placed it back where it was, the Abyss energy coming out soon after and reattaching it in its regeneration.  
"I took the liberty on training it to become my own watchdog. Luckily for me, it took its job quite well." She said and pet it on the head.

The bird nodded but kept a keen glare.

"I trust you will defend this place while we retreat to Seris, will you?" Seris asked the bird, who squawked in agreement.

"What an intelligent animal." The man commented.

"More intelligent than some of the fools we've sent to take care of this job." Seris spoke and shrugged her shoulders, motioning the animal to leave.

The bird did so and flew off out the room and into the dark fortress.

"Now then, we should be taking our leave to Seris and let our pet here take care of that trash. We have more important things to attend to." Seris continued and put her left hand over the man's chest.

"I will see to it that we make haste." The man responded.

"For now, let us take our share of the night." Seris lowly spoke she grabbed the man's chin and brought him to bed with her.

Outside of the room, the bird flew through the empty corridors and halls, avoiding columns and spires, stairway drops and rises, and all sorts of torn up banners and statues until he spotted the only window in sight- a large stained-glass window that had a tiny opening at the top. The bird flew through this opening and came out into the outside world.

The sun was out and shining over the nearby town.

The bird gave out a loud screech and noticed a group of men walking in front of the stone walls of the abandoned fortress.

It was a young group of hooligans throwing stones, harassing women and old people, and causing a general ruckus on the street. They were completely unaware of their surroundings except for the people they were targeting at the moment.

The bird squawked lowly and kept its keen eyes on them, then started to fly down.

The young men started to cause a racket between themselves and they stopped in front of the rusted gates that led to the entry to the fortress.

"Take a look at this old place." One of the men laughed and grabbed one of the small cobblestones stones that once made up the wall and threw it at the fortress.  
The rest of the young men joined in and started throwing stones at the fortress, targeting bushes, old statues, and small windows.

The bird landed on the iron gates, causing them to stop at that moment.

"Hey, take a look at that." The same man from before pointed at the bird and laughed, "Get out of here!" he grabbed a rock and threw it at the bird.

The bird flew away, causing all the young men to laugh and jeer before grabbing more stones to throw.

"Hahahaha!" the young man that had thrown the rock at the bird laughed and threw his stone, but before he could grab another, he heard a strong gust of wind.  
Then felt an impact to his chest.

"AHHHHHH!" the young man closest to him screamed, causing the others to turn and see the horrid sight.

There was a gaping hole through the man's chest.

The bird landed nearby, shaking itself of the new redness it had on its feathers before it lunged at another one of the young men and flew off back into the fortress.

The young man that was targeted this round had his arm completely removed.

It was now that the group of ruffians took off in fright, leaving their wounded comrades to fend for themselves.

0000000

Sarah sat down with her allies by where they had originally met Abdalah and Yamina at the edge community duck pond. She was looking into dark waters, though ignoring the ducks and other birds that were there.

Lex, Lian, Zhin, and Moji were sitting nearby at a picnic table eating lunch and conversing between each other. It was only a moment until Lian noticed Sarah's apparent distant behavior, compelling her to excuse herself from the gang and sit down next to Sarah under a sycamore tree.

"How's it going?" Lian asked her.

Sarah turned to face her and smiled, "It's going well. Why aren't you with the rest of them?" she asked and looked at the three others.

"I thought you were getting lonely, so I decided to stop by." Lian responded, "Though I should stop being the one that has to take all the initiative." She sighed and looked up to the sky.

"Hahaha, I'm fine." Sarah chuckled but gave a weak smile.

Lian looked back at her and frowned, "Something's wrong, is it?"

"Well, I must admit almost losing Lex and you was less than pleasing." Sarah said and looked at Lian's hands, "Yes… It wasn't a good feeling."

"Relax." Lian said, "We all made it out ok thanks to you, and I am very grateful." She put her hand to her chest and bowed her head, "Without you, I don't know what would have happened to us."

"Neither do I… Pyre knows what Seris would do to your soul." Sarah gulped, "She's… just so evil…." She growled and clenched her fists.

Lian looked at the emotion of the woman but raised her alarm when saw tear stains on her sleeves.  
"Sarah?"

"L-L-Lian." Sarah stammered and covered her face, "Why is she like this? Why my sister? She did so many horrible things…"

Lian became confused.

"She made a girl kill herself." Sarah cried out, "All because she feared her! By the Pyre I hate her so much!"

It was at this point Zhin and Lex noticed the outburst and turned to face the two. Lex motioned Zhin to go, which Zhin nodded, but not before motioning Moji to stay where she was.

"Why my sister!" Sarah wept, "I loved her so much, yet she keeps trying to take away the things I love! Why is she so evil?!"

"I'll tell you why." Lex, who was now next to Lian, spoke. "It is my belief that there are events or desires in this world that can cause even the best of men to become the worst of criminals. Once that happens, they become irredeemable in the sight of the Law. From what you have told us, your sister has fallen under this same fate."

Sarah looked at Lex.  
"I know…" she mumbled and wiped the tears from her eyes, "That is why I'm trying to stop her… There are times I believe that it would be best if she died, because then her soul will stop seeking evil."

"Whatever you decide for us to do, we will help you." Lian said, "We have all sword to aid you in this quest, and I, as a princess, will keep my word. I don't know about the other two."

Sarah gave a small smile.

"You have my word as a swordsman." Zhin added.

"And mine as a Lawman." Lex finished, "We all believe that Seris should be stopped from what we have seen and heard."

"I am honored I could have your support." Sarah stood up, "Then we shouldn't hesitate! We should leave before sundown tonight!" she raised her hand.

"As long as Abdalah or whatever his name is fixes the wagon up in time we can." Lian commented, "Say Zhin, where's your ladyfriend?" she asked.

Zhin huffed.  
"Who?" he crossed his arms.

"The one you took a bullet for." Lian continued teasing him, "I think she really liked that from what she told us and her father. Be careful, he seems like the type to arrange marriages, you know those lot."

"Said the princess." Zhin grumbled, "Regardless, I don't know where Yamina is, and I don't care. She could be off with her caravan and I wouldn't give two-" he turned around and saw Yamina walking down with her father towards them.

"Would you like to repeat your testimony?" Lex chuckled lowly as he saw Zhin turn back towards them.

"Shut up."

"You know everything you say can and will be used against you."

"Say a word and I'll- Hey!" Zhin saw Abdalah and Yamina join their group, "How's it going!"

Abdalah had the most serious face ever, a face so serious that even Lex was becoming unnerved. His body loomed over them as he stood silent, like a sentinel watching over a king, like a tower rising from a castle.  
He pointed straight at Zhin.

Zhin visibly recoiled at the gesture.

"You." Abdalah spoke, then the widest smile appeared on his face, "You saved my daughter!" he called out and gave the man a huge bear hug.

"HWAK!" Zhin gasped, his eyes wide open and nearly bulging out of their sockets as his body was crushed between the man's tree trunk-like arms and broad built chest.

"I will never not be thankful for your work." Abdalah set the man down and turned to Yamina, joyfully speaking to her in their native tongue.

Yamina smiled and turned to Zhin.  
"I really don't know how I can thank you." She fixed her head covering and walked up to him, opening her arms.

Zhin stood confused at the gesture.

"I think she wants you to hug her, fool." Lian spoke up.

"Yes! Yes! A hug!" Yamina spoke.

"In our culture it is forbidden for a woman to hug a man first unless it is his wife." Abdalah told the Paladins.

"Uh… Ok." Zhin stammered and hugged Yamina but was shocked when the hug was rather personal.

A smell of exotic soap hit his nose and caught his interest, but before he could catch any further scent he pulled away with a rather flustered face.  
"I… Uh… No problem!" he said and bowed.

Yamina smiled and turned to her father and talked to him in their tongue.

Abdalah nodded, bowed, and walked off towards his caravan.

"What did you tell him?" Lian asked, taking the reins of the conversation yet again.

"I wanted just wanted to talk to you all." Yamina responded, "It seemed you all were having a good time, I didn't want my father to interrupt. He can be quiet… intrusive…"

"Tell me about it." Lian said, "But don't worry about it, we were just having a small talk is all." She put her arm over Sarah's shoulders.

Yamina nodded, but then looked at Sarah.  
"Hmmm… Are you ok?" she asked her.

"Huh?" Sarah looked at her with confusion.

"You seem sad." Yamina titled her head, "Were you crying? Awww." She sighed and walked to her, "Don't worry, it will be ok."

"How-" Sarah said, "How did you know?"

"Your eyes… They are very sad." Yamina said with the kindest voice, "They are red from crying, but have lost their color because of pain. I just want to tell you it will be alright."

Zhin's eyes widened in surprise at the woman's genuine demeanor, even Lian took a note of it.

Sarah could not help but smile at the woman's action as she felt a warmness in her heart.  
"Thank you, Yamina."

Yamina smiled in return.  
"Keep strong." She hugged her and stepped back, "Zhin." She turned to the man.

"Ahem- Yes?" Zhin cleared his throat and addressed her, "Yes, Yamina?"

"Thank you for saving me from the robber." Yamina smiled again, "I am forever grateful." She fixed her head covering again.  
This time it was a bit more nervously than the last.

"A-Again, no problem." Zhin stammered and bowed, "It was my honor- I mean pleasure!"

Yamina nodded.  
"I will see my father." She excused herself from the conversation and walked away, but not before giving Zhin one last glance.

"Oh my…" Lian smirked and walked towards Zhin, "Zhin, it seems you have a little lady in waiting. When are you going to tell her you were the rooster at her porch?" she asked him.

"Never!" Zhin shot back, "You don't understand, I can't be with Yamina! She's too pure for me or for this world! Did you not just see how she was with Sarah? By hell I can't be with her!" he put his hands to his head in frustration.  
"With my record with women, Yamina would be better off living a widow!"

"Don't say that." Sarah said, "You are a very caring person, especially to those who have a pure heart."

"I am not!" Zhin shook his head, "I've been a bad man for most of my life… A terrible person." He recollected his past, "Look, Yamina doesn't deserve me… And she definitely can't be with me considering what we are doing. She doesn't have a stand and all we have been facing are stand users. You yourself stated that people without them cannot see them! She's going to be a sitting duck to whatever more your sister sends us."

"Sounds like you are really concerned for her." Lex pondered, giving a short chuckle as he did so, "Well it seems that is something you'll have to notify her about, not us."

"I know…" Zhin groaned and looked at Yamina, who was appeared to be arguing with her father over something.  
"Hmmm?" his attention was piqued.

"What is it?" Lex asked and turned to that direction and saw the same sight.

It was not long before Yamina returned to them with something with her hand.  
It was a silk ribbon, it appeared to be made out of the same material her head covering was made out of. It was red in color and had ornate designs of golden flowers on it.

"I wish for you to have this." The woman said and looked at Zhin, "As a symbol for my gratitude." She stepped up to the man and reached for his right arm.

"What?" Zhin stepped back.

"I'm sorry!" Yamina shook her head in embarrassment, "Can I please see your right arm?" she asked politely.

Zhin gathered his bearings and nodded, then extended his arm out.

Yamina stretched out the silk ribbon and tied it a little bit above his bicep in a fancy bow-like not.  
"There." She smiled and looked at Zhin.

"Uh… Thank you… ?" the man responded.

"It is my pleasure." Yamina bowed and walked back to her father's caravan.

"What was that about?" Lex asked, genuinely curious at what events just occurred.

"If I may hop in." Sarah walked next to Zhin, "You may have a little admirer, Zhin." She informed and pointed at the ribbon.  
"In my long life traveling in order to find other stand users and learn the powers of my own stand, I met a lot of people and experienced a lot of cultures." She added, "I think I finally figured out what tribe Yamina is from. She is from the desert tribe of the Al-Jamir, and I know that because they have a little tradition in which if a girl likes a guy… well she gets him a little ribbon and ties it around his right arm, level to his heart. Apparently tying it on the right arm signifies that the girl admires the man's strength and it being level to his heart means… well, she wants to be right beside it. It's kind of cute if you think about it." She smiled.

Zhin looked at the ribbon and saw that it matched exactly to what she had described.  
"And what would the man have to do reject this advance?"

Lian sighed.  
Lex shook his head.

Sarah frowned.  
"Well you have to undo it in front of her and hand it back straightened out and in your two hands as if presenting a platter." She grumbled.

Zhin sighed, then made his way towards the caravan.  
His feet were making haste, but his heart lagged behind. He didn't want to go, but it was necessary.  
This had to stop.

He made his way until he was only a few meters away from Abdalah and Yamina, who by now noticed him walking towards them but only kept cordial looks about them.

"Yamina." Zhin spoke up and stopped in front of her.

"Yes?" the young woman asked.

Zhin took a deep breath and reached for the ribbon on his arm. His hands grabbed hold of it and started to tug on its bow.

Yamina stood silent and looked down at the ground.

Zhin frowned but continued to unravel the ribbon until it was finally loose.  
"I am sorry." He said and stretched out the ribbon and laid it across the palms of his hands, "Please, forgive me." He bowed.

"Regrettable…" Abdalah shook his head.

Zhin gave out a deep sigh and looked at Yamina.

"Why?" she asked.

His throat became tied up. His tongue lost the ability to speak.  
"I'm sorry, please forgive me."

"For what?" Yamina raised her head, showing she had a smile on her face.  
"I'm happy!" she exclaimed.

"Huh?" Zhin turned to Abdalah, "What-"

"It is regrettable my family was not around to see this!" Abdalah laughed his hearty laugh, "Oh, my daughter, you have a suitor for you! How do you feel?"

Yamina smiled.  
"Happy!" she said and extended her right arm.

"What?" Zhin said.

"You're supposed the do the same thing to me!" Yamina laughed, "Oh, I guess you don't know the culture very well." She said and helped him tie the ribbon across her own arm.

"What!?" Zhin yelled.

"Why are you so shocked, my friend?" Abdalah asked, "You should be happy!" he laughed and patted the man on the back.

"Zhin, I can see myself being your ladyfriend…" Yamina smiled and put her hands to her cheeks.

"LADYFRIEND!?" The swordsman cried out in horror.

"Yes, you just showed romance to me!" Yamina responded, "I must say you know a lot about Al-Jamir culture, I'm so impressed!"

"But we've only known each other for a day what how what?!" Zhin stepped back.

His friends had heard the commotion and ran to his aid.

"What is wrong?" Lex asked as he tried to assess the scene.

"I'll tell you what's wrong!" Zhin turned to Sarah and glared at her, "Someone gave me directions to ask a woman out- one I've only known fully for a day!"

Sarah's eyes widened.  
"Oh… Yes…." She chuckled uneasily, "Well… I…."

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT FOR!?" Zhin was livid.

"Zhin, calm down." Lex tried to get in between them.

"Well Zhin, I thought the same way you did…" Sarah answered, "I thought she would reject your proposal for a relationship because you've only met for a day, so I told you how to romance a girl in the Al-Jamir culture in order to save you the burden…"

Zhin's eye twitched.

"Ha… ha… ha…" Sarah chuckled in fear.

"WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" Zhin yelled in rage at the sky. He stopped and panted, then turned to Yamina.  
He saw her worried expression and was immediately calmed down.  
"Uh… Apologies… It's just that…" he stammered again.

"I understand." Abdalah spoke, "It must be difficult to process all your emotions knowing that you will court my beautiful daughter soon." He said with a grin.

Zhin sighed.

"You don't understand, my daughter has been trying to get married for a while now." Abdalah continued, "She's had no suitors in years since she became of age, I am really worried for her. Her little heart was always open for love yet all those dogs that rejected her broke it every time!" he became visibly enraged.

"Oh father!" Yamina said, "Please don't say things like that in public!"

"Look!" Zhin snapped, "I don't want a relationship with you!" he pointed at Yamina, "And I don't care what you believe!" he pointed at Abdalah, "Or what you all say!" he turned to his allies, "I will not endanger her life! Not when we are out here busting our asses fighting assassins with stands that can easily take us all out! I won't repeat myself! I won't have another innocent person die in front of my eyes like my mother!"

The environment went quiet.

"You- You wouldn't understand!" Zhin groaned and swatted the air with his left arm, then stormed away towards the other side of the duck pond.

"I- I'm going to go talk to him." Yamina spoke and ran off behind him, picking up her dress skirt as she did so.

"Moji, stay here with Abdallah." Sarah instructed Moji as she turned to Lex and Lian, "We should go too."

"I know what happened last time Zhin ran off by himself." Lex commented as he took the lead.

"What a pain…" Lian grabbed her tiara and shifted it side to side across her forehead.


	23. Heritage for the Future

**Lian's Peculiar Adventure**

 **Chapter 23**

 **Sha Lin and a Heritage for the Future**

* * *

Zhin was stopped when someone had tugged on his robes. Though he seemed hesitant to pause his escape, he nonetheless knew who had asked for his attention.  
"Yamina." He turned to face her.

But it wasn't Yamina.  
It was Lian.

Yamina was standing behind her alongside Lex and Sarah.

"Listen here, loghead." Lian grabbed Zhin's collar, "You can't just run away from your problems and leave us to clean up your mess! If we could do that I wouldn't even run Aico, but no, welcome to reality! Now you tell Yamina what you actually think or by the gods…" she snarled, and Power Khan came out and clenched its fist alongside its user.

"Please don't." Yamina worriedly said when she saw Lian threaten Zhin.

"I may be a princess, but that doesn't mean I think like one." Lian responded, "Sometimes a woman has to stand up for herself, and that's something you gotta do."

Yamina shook her head and stepped in between Zhin and Lian.  
"I won't allow this." She glared at Lian.

Sarah and Lex's eyes widened when they noticed Yamina's cheerful demeanor turn into a serious composure that defied Lian's apparent violence.

"At ease, Yamina." Zhin spoke as he freed himself from the woman's grasp and stepped back.

"My." Lian laughed, thinking Yamina was playing around.

"I do not tolerate violence." Yamina responded, still serious, "Especially not to those I care about. I do not want you to hurt him."

"Yamina, calm down." Lian joked.

"Lian…" Sarah spoke as she looked at Yamina's soul through the power of the Pyre and saw that it was red hot, a deep crimson red that saturated its nearby environment.  
"I think you should cool it."

Lian turned to face her ally and saw her worried expression.  
"Are you serious?"

Lex stepped in.  
"Yamina, it is just a misunderstanding." He explained, trying to diffuse the situation, "While Lian and Zhin are very physical with each other, it is nothing but idle playfulness and banter. There is no ill intention between the two."

Yamina started to calm down and took a deep breath.  
"I understand. My apologies, Lian." She bowed and turned back to Zhin, who was pretty much strolling away at this point.  
"Zhin!"

"Uh oh." Sarah saw that Yamina's soul turned into a sickly yellow, showing worry and panic, "We need to follow her!" she pointed and the three ran behind them.

Nearby, a man shuffled behind a stand.  
A very familiar young man.  
Sha Lin. He was looking at the Paladins as they walked towards the town.  
"Hey hey." He smiled and popped out from behind the pile of bananas he took as cover, "Well looks like the gang's all here. Sucks I won't be able to catch up to them without being seen. Let's see if this bad boy is going to do me good." He laughed and pulled out Seris' lamp from his sack.

The man shook the lamp, and its started to give out the familiar purple fog he was used to. The fog darkened into a thick smoke that molded itself into shapes.  
It was five adult figures, what appeared to be two men and three women. They were running, however, and the figures died down and showed that one of the man was down on the ground and surrounded by the other figures. This figure on the ground had what appeared to be something sticking out of his chest.

"Looks like one of the guys was hit by my arrows." Sha Lin laughed and gained the courage to jump out and making his way towards them, using nearby citizens as cover.

The Paladins maintained a steady stroll ahead of him, though they were still a respectable distance away and that distance was increasing by the second.

"I can't go too fast or else one of them is going to notice me." Sha Lin told himself as he hid behind a cart of onions and then shifted over to hide behind the ox pulling the cart.

The Paladins had stopped, and Zhin had finally turned and appeared to be talking with Yamina.

"Hmm… I've never seen that girl before." Sha Lin pondered as he looked at Yamina, "Could that be a new stand user that joined them? Yikes, I don't want to find out." He murmured, but then took a closer look.  
"Say, she's rather cute." He chuckled and rubbed his hands.

This action reminded him of what he had to do.

"Oh right, I have to take my shot!" he exclaimed and called out The Bow, "Lucky for me Zhin is standing very still. An easy pick." He saw that Zhin was the most exposed out of the Paladins, a clear avenue to his chest between Lex and Lian.

Sha Lin made a mystical arrow appear on his bow and he drew the string back.

However, before he could fire, a duck flew off from the nearby pond and struck Lex on the back, richocheting off and then striking Zhin in the face.

Zhin collapsed and caused all the Paladins to surround him.

"Agh!" Sha Lin grumbled and stepped away from his hiding position and used the distraction to near them.  
"What the?" he was around 20 meters away from the group and kept hidden behind a stand stocked with bronze sculptures.

Zhin was on the ground with the duck on his chest.  
The duck appeared to be alright and had its neck stretched out and its chest puffed out, threatening the people surrounding it in self-defense.

Sha Lin shook his head and took another glance.  
The duck stood straight up, just like in the lantern's fog.  
"Well, it wasn't my arrow but something good came about it." He sighed and noted he was close to his targets, but not close enough that his stand would lose most of its effectiveness.

Zhin finally stood up with the help of Yamina, who had shooed away the duck nonviolently.  
The Paladins reconvened, and after chiding from Lian and a wellness check from Lex, they started to talk again.

"Good grief…." Sha Lin groaned and took a look at a nearby alley, "Well since this prophecy is done it's best to consult the lamp again." He said and walked towards the alley, which was a small road that led into the town.

Zhin's ears perked up when he heard clattering of bronze.  
"Hmmm…" he murmured but was interrupted by Yamina.

"I hope you are ok." She said.

"I'm fine." Zhin sighed, "I just need to walk off this cramp." He rubbed his right leg and made his way into the town.

"I can just heal it, Zh-" Sarah stopped when Zhin was already walking off.

"I won't be far." Zhin responded and continued on his way, avoiding civilians as he made his way unto the cobblestone road that formed.

"It doesn't look like he'll abandon us." Lex commented, "And even then, it doesn't look like he can put up much of a chase. However, just so he doesn't get any bright ideas."

The Law came out from behind him and aimed its arm gun.

"Gonna shoot him?" Lian asked.

"Just retrieve him." Lex responded.

Nearby, Sha Lin turned the corner from the street where he was originally travelling until he knelt next to a large bust of a woman.  
"Let's see what this is trying to tell me." He noticed the purple smoke was coming out his sack and thus pulled out the lamp.

It was already glowing as was forming the dark smoke figures within the purple mist.

"Oh snap, I almost missed the first prophecy." Sha Lin gasped and looked intently at the prediction.

The smoke formed one figure that was of a man kneeling by a statue looking at a ball before quickly disappearing and showing a scene of four figures walking towards a fifth figure. The next prediction came through and was of a man with another figure holding a sword that was held at the through of another man who was pinned and helpless.

Sha Lin's eyes widened in horror.

Another prophecy came through, it was two men again, but this one had one of the men poking the other's butt.

"What?!"

However, there was a last prediction.  
The smoke cleared to once again form four figures on the ground, sprawled as if dead.

"What… What was that last one!?" Sha Lin cried out as the lamp died and went dull, "No you stupid lamp, show me again!" he growled and shook his head before throwing the lamp back into his sack.

In his frustration, Sha Lin chucked his sack into a nearby wagon filled with potatoes.

"This sucks, I'm going to be poked in the butt and stabbed to death by Zhin!" Sha Lin groaned, but then remembered the last prediction, "But could that last one be him and all his friends? But I wasn't in it! I could already be dead! I don't want to die!"

He paced back and forth until turning the corner from whence he came.  
"Then again, that stupid lamp has always been vague…" he pondered and put his hand to his chin, "Maybe I do live… Where did I leave it?" he asked and saw that his sack was at the wagon.

He walked towards the wagon, passing the corner until he was suddenly grabbed by his red scarf and violently tugged.

"Well well well."  
It was Zhin, who snarled at the very sight of the young man, "I thought someone was following us!"

"Yahhhh!" Sha Lin gasped and tried to escape his grasp but found out that Thousand Hands had already appeared behind him and had its sword pointed at his back.  
"ZHIN!" he yelled.

"What are you doing around here, welp?" Zhin grumbled and moved Thousand Hands to his left, "I bet you came back to get that money from Seris." He put him in a choke hold.

"Z-Z-Zhin old pal!" Sha Lin stammered as he felt the man's arm crush his throat, "I- Hwak! I was only here to buy stuff! I'm all clean!"

"Don't think I've forgotten about what you did!" Zhin yelled, "All I have to do is cut your throat wide open and it will all be over! My mother will be avenged!"

"Zhin! I told you it was all an accident!" Sha Lin pleaded as he tried to remove the arm from his neck. He failed at doing so, but called out the bow.

 _I at least should try to use it before I die! I don't want to die a coward!_

Zhin noticed this action and pinned Sha Lin to the wall and twisted the arm that held The Bow.

"OUCH!" Sha Lin screamed as his stand was recalled.

"I finally have you now! No running away!" Zhin laughed and commanded Thousand Hands to raise its blade, "Mother, you will be avenged!"

Suddenly a hum.

Zhin turned to the source of the noise and saw Sha Lin's sack puffing out purple mist.  
"What the hell?" he asked.

 _Oh crap!_ Sha Lin panicked, _If he finds that lamp, I'm a goner! My advantage will be gone!_

"What is that in that bag?!" Zhin turned back to Sha Lin and strengthened his twist, "Is that bomb? Are you trying to take us all down?! Hmph." He grunted, "Nice try."

Thousand Hands turned its attention to the sack and stabbed through it. However, this strike against a spherical object caused the blade to deflect and cause the lamp to ricochet out of the sack and hit Zhin on the left shin.

"AGH!" Zhin yelled in pain.

"Now's my chance!" Sha Lin used this opportunity of weakness to free himself, "Now you'll get it, Zhin!" he laughed and turned to attack.  
Before he could ball his fist, Zhin's body shifted backwards and caused Sha Lin's pointer and middle fingers from his left hand to jab right up his butt.

Zhin's eyes widened.  
Sha Lin gasped in shock.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" the two men yelled for two entirely different reasons.

The rest of the Paladins had heard this commotion and made their way towards Zhin's voice.

"Zhin!" Lian called out.

"Are you ok?" Sarah added.

"Yikes!" Sha Lin gulped, "If those guys find me, I'm a goner!" he said and pulled away from his assailant.

Zhin groaned and fell to his knees, his stand retreating into his being.

"At least I'm not dead." Sha Lin panted as he grabbed the lamp that had rolled in nearby, "But that last prediction. That mean's they're all going to die! Haha!"

"What… What are you talking about…" Zhin growled as he slowly stood up.

"Nothing!" Sha Lin responded and called out The Bow, "Wow you recovered fast."

"I am fueled by hatred for you!" Zhin said and called his stand back out.

Sha Lin fired an arrow and made it curve.

"I won't fall for the same mistake twice!" Zhin predicted the arrow avoiding his sword strike so he moved to his left.

The arrow flew past its target but curved upwards as Sha Lin controlled it.

"Now you're wide open!" Zhin laughed and made Thousand Hands charge.

"No u!" Sha Lin laughed and called the arrow back down, striking Thousand hands in the shoulder and penetrating clean through its armor and being.

"AGH!" Zhin groaned as blood flew out from his left shoulder.

"Zhin!" his allies responded to the scene and Lex stepped forward, "It's you!" he yelled and pointed at Sha Lin.

Sha Lin laughed and used the opportunity that Zhin knelt on the ground to raise The Bow again, "Ready?!" he loaded five arrows on the string.

"Watch out!" Sarah said and called out Furious Flame, "Lian, Lex, cover me!" she said.

"Yes!" Lian responded.  
"On duty!" Lex added.

Yamina stepped back as she just saw all these people pointing and yelling at each other, but then saw the most curious sight.  
A nearby ox strapped to a wagon filled with potatoes suddenly had blood flying out of its flank.  
"What?!" she gasped.

"RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH!" Power Khan deflected three of the arrows as The Law shot down the last ones and returned fire at Sha Lin.

Sarah used this cover to use Furious Flame to heal Zhin's wound with the Pyre.

Sha Lin hid behind the corner and looked at the lamp, which started to glow and release mist.  
"Come on you stupid lamp, when are they all supposed to be dea-" he stopped when he heard a cry.

An animalistic cry.

The ox was riled up by the arrow he shot at Zhin and charged.  
Straight at his enemies.

"ROOOOH!" the ox bellowed as it plowed first through Zhin, who was still downed, then through Lian, who tried to stop it with Power Khan, then Lex, who tried to save Lian, and then through Furia, who was caught completely unawares while she was looking for Yamina.

"ARGHHH!"  
"AYYYY!"  
"HROOOF!"  
"OH MY PYRE!"

The four Paladins rocketed up into the air before crashing into a sandstone wall. Large pieces of said sandstone fell on them, further adding to their injuries.

Sha Lin popped his head out from behind the corner after all the commotion was over and the dust was cleared.  
"Well well well… Looks like you were right!" he rubbed the lamp, then saw another prophecy unfold.

The smoke formed one figure, a man with a bow, fire four arrows.

This caused a noticeable smile on Sha Lin's face.

The next prediction came in, showing three people struck by arrows with one person standing defiantly. A man with long hair.

"Zhin…" Sha Lin murmured.

Finally, the last prophecy rolled in.  
It was the same figure collapsing after an arrow had struck his chest. A long-haired male defeated.

"Finally, they won't be bothering me anymore!" Sha Lin laughed, "And I will finally get my due reward! Yes! Destiny has made me the winner!" he jumped up and called out the bow, then aimed it at the downed Paladins.  
"Sorry everyone, it's just business." Sha Lin loaded four arrows on the bow.

He took a look at the people he was about to shoot.  
Lian, her face was bloody and covered with sand and rubble. She was beautiful to say the least, but he knew that he could get women much more attractive with the money he would be receiving.

Sarah, she was in the same position as Lian, but one of her arms was caught underneath a particularly larger piece of sandstone. He felt some pity for her, as he didn't know why Seris had a particular hatred for her when she described his mission objective. He also thought she was cute, but in a sisterly way.

Lex was starting to wake up and was giving out groans as he held his head in pain. He didn't particularly care for him, but he respected the fact he was dedicated to his friends. Almost made him feel a little bad he was dragged into this. Sure, he never had good friends, but perhaps Lex could make a friend that would get him back on track.

Finally, Zhin. He was already wide awake but gathering his bearings.  
As much as he hated to admit it, Sha Lin did not want to kill Zhin. Sure the price was tempting, but deep down he knew he messed up when he killed his mother. He had always wished Zhin would forgive him, but after both of them turned to adventuring lives and their past encounters that led to violence… Perhaps it was better to end it all now. Unfortunately, their feud, he thought, could only be resolved with death.

"Perhaps you will find peace with your mother, Zhin." Sha Lin murmured and released his arrows.

The projectiles careened and struck their targets.  
All except one.

Thousand hands had appeared and cut the arrow aimed at its master in two.  
"Trying to take us down while we are weak?" Zhin growled as he stood up from the rubble, "You've hit a new low, even for you, worm."

"I didn't want this, Zhin." Sha Lin said and loaded another arrow, "But I know you and I are never going to reconcile. Sorry, but if this is the way it has to be… Well…" he drew the string.

"You never wanted to reconcile. You never felt remorse." Zhin spat on the ground.

"I was your friend, Zhin. Both Ying and I." Sha Lin responded, "Since children. My father gave your mother money to raise you, he believed me-"

"Of course he would believe you!" Zhin yelled and made slowly made his way towards Sha Lin, revealing he had a noticeable wound on his right shin.

"I was your friend, Zhin. I wanted nothing more that we grow up and have adventures alongside Ying." Sha Lin continued, "But you never could forgive my error. I will tell you this, the greatest mistake I've ever done was play foolishly with my fighting spirit."

Zhin had enough and used his strengths to call out Thousand Hands once again.  
"Shut up!"

"I'm sorry." Sha Lin closed his eyes and fired the arrow.

Zhin saw the act but in his weakness could not react fast enough to make Thousand Hands Counter.

"Zhin!"

The swordsman turned to see Yamina running towards him.  
Everything went into slow motion. The arrow was heading straight towards his head and he knew that it would be over, no healing from Sarah, no surviving the wound, no chance to cut it out.  
He had failed everyone.  
Lian, Lex, Sarah.  
Yamina.  
His mother.

Zhin held back pain and faced his death head on, glaring at Sha Lin while he kept his stride.  
It was at that moment he could see, just for a moment, years' worth of regret appear on Sha Lin's face.

Then he collapsed. His face hit the dirt.  
"What?" he grumbled and saw that he was still alive.

Sha Lin called away The Bow.

"You missed!" Zhin yelled and used this opportunity to strike.

"No! Stop!" Yamina appeared and pulled Sha Lin away from Zhin's attack.

"What!?" both Sha Lin and Zhin yelled.

The archer fell atop Yamina and pulled away her head covering during the scuffle, but the swordsman came soon after and caused him to tumble away.

"Oof!" Zhin fell atop Yamina, supplanting Sha Lin.

"Oww…." Sha Lin grumbled as he stood up, then was blinded by Yamina's head covering drooping over his head.  
"I can't see-"

THWAK!

His own arrow struck him in the chest.

"Is… this…" Sha Lin looked at his projectile, "I… Must have… lost control of it…." He fell to his knees, the head covering over his head maintain its grip.

Zhin saw the sight and at first thought an innocent woman had been struck, but his vision cleared and he saw it was Sha Lin.  
"Finally, you get what you deserve…" he stood up and called out Thousand Hands.

"Zhin, no!" Yamina, covering her hair, called out and grabbed the covering from Sha Lin's head before putting it on her.  
"You can't!"

"You don't understand!" Zhin pushed her aside and made Thousand Hands raised its sword.

"I…. I made the arrow miss you." Sha Lin murmured.

"Lies!" Zhin yelled and raised his fist, "You will pay for everything you have done!"

BANG!  
BANG!  
BANG!  
BANG!

Zhin's eyes widened.

"Yamina!" Lex yelled as he removed a stone from his chest that took the arrow meant to kill him.

Sha Lin gasped.

Zhin exhaled and fell to his knees in front of Sha Lin.

Yamina was holding a smoking revolver.  
"I'm sorry."

Lex ran to her and took the revolver from her hands.  
"Zhin." He turned to his friend, "Zhin listen to me."

"Ha… Ha… Ha…." Zhin panted as blood dripped from his mouth.

"He was telling the truth." Lex told Zhin as he attended his wounds, "I saw him. Sha Lin made the arrow miss on purpose."

Sha Lin looked at Zhin.

"Impossible…" Zhin snarled, "If he killed my mother…"

"He made it miss, Zhin." Lex told him, "I don't know why."

"I never wanted this to happen." Sha Lin spoke up and looked at Yamina bawling her eyes out.

"Is everyone ok!?" some local Enforcers came to the scene and looked at everyone.

Zhin and Sha Lin finally collapsed from their injuries.

"I need help! Pronto!" Lex commanded the enforcers, "Sarah! Lian! We need you!"


	24. Old Wounds

**Lian's Peculiar Adventure**

 **Chapter 24**

 **Old Wounds**

* * *

Zhin sat silently on an inn bed with bandages on his chest.

"You were lucky, Zhin." Sarah commented, "Yamina didn't hit any vital organs. It was an easy fix for my Pyre."

"Same for your buddy here." Lian added and pointed to Sha Lin, who was on the bed behind her.

"Well… crap." Sha Lin sighed, "That stupid lamp couldn't have predicted this."

Zhin glared at the young man but maintained his composure when he noticed Abdalah and Yamina were also there.  
"Uh…"

"They're here because I took a statement. I am still an enforcer at the end of the day." Lex spoke up, "I justified Yamina shooting you with the other enforcers as an act of self-defense. You two, however, will have to pay the local court 500 pieces of gold each for instigating violence."

Sha Lin sighed.

"You're lucky they didn't pin the sandstone wall destruction on you." Lex pointed at him, "They classified it as an Act of the Gods with the ox's owner being questioned. Now I want to finally get this down as a Man of the Law, did you murder Zhin's mother in cold blood?"

Sha Lin gasped.  
"N-N-No! I didn't!" he pleaded, "I never wanted to kill her!"

"You're going to believe him?!" Zhin erupted, "Over your own friend!? The man who has bled for you!?"

"Zhin! Enough of this! We have a way to prove this once and for all!" Lex pinned the man down to the bed, "We must settle this! You can rest assured if he is guilty I will bring his punishment to the fullest extent of the Law!" he yelled.

Even Abdalah shook at this outburst.

Zhin looked down.  
He knew his friend was right.

"Sarah, look into his soul!" Lex told the woman, "We have the fastest way to the truth here!"

"Very well." Sarah responded, "Sha Lin, did you kill Zhin's mother on purpose?"

"No! I swear to all the gods! I never meant t-t-o…" he started to cry, "Zhin was my friend, man! I loved him like a brother alongside Ying…"

Sarah's sights showed that his soul was radiant white, with patches of deep indigo blue that signified sadness.  
"He's… telling the truth." She said in disbelief, "His soul… it's white! Absolved from guilt or dishonesty!"

"No! I don't believe it!"

"My friend." Abdalah spoke, "There are times in a man's life he must forgive. If a man has too much hatred in his heart, his soul turns to ash. He loses whatever purpose he has except that very hate that consumes him."

Zhin sat silently.  
Memories of his mother came to his mind. How happy she was, how much radiance she brought to their poor condition.

"I-"

"I believe in you, Zhin." Yamina spoke up, "I… now you didn't want to kill each other… but at the heat of the moment I acted to protect and innocent man. I praise the gods that Sarah could heal you, but I want them to heal you for real!"

Zhin saw the same serene grace in her that he did in his mother.  
He didn't know why, but he calmed down.

Lian, Lex, and Sarah all felt Zhin's anger just whisk away.

"I know you are a very special man, Zhin." Yamina continued, "I could never fathom the extent of history you have with this man, but I know it is up to you to change. You have seen he wants to change, you have heard his testimony and his innocence-"

"Yamina…." Zhin groaned, "You don't understand."

"I know I don't."

"My mother was the loveliest woman on this entire planet." Zhin spoke, " She loved me beyond all things, save for the gods. She provided me with anything I needed even if she had to cause her hands to bleed from so much work. She…"

"…cared about everyone in town." Sha Lin spoke at the same time as him, "She would bake us cookies. She would give us things even when she didn't have any. Zhin's mother would always give Ying and I candies even when our lunch sacks were full."

Zhin paused.

"I remember my father would always protect her from others heckling her poverty. I didn't understand it at the time, but I knew she didn't deserve it." Sha Lin continued, "Playing with my stand in such a foolish way will always haunt me, no matter how much money I had."

"See, Zhin?" Yamina said, "Now please, find it in your heart to forgive him. I believe you can. You have such a gruff demeanor, but I know your heart is a diamond in the rough."

Zhin looked at Sha Lin.  
"I…. Just want to Know one thing." He said, "Why?"

Sha Lin sat silently until he turned to face him.  
"That was the day I developed my fighting spirit. You knew I was the last one of the bunch that had one. How I always stood in wonder hearing how you and Ying had imaginary friends that could do amazing things… And that day I had my own. I was showing Ying before I showed you… I knew you would have been so proud of me. But I still had lacked control of The Bow and its arrows since I was young… and…"

Zhin nodded.

"Still a white soul, Zhin." Sarah added.

"And you know I wouldn't have let him get away with a lie." Lian smirked and took out Power Khan.

"I… Forgive you, Sha Lin." Zhin finally spoke up, mustering all his strength to do so.

"I'm proud of you." Yamina smiled and out her hand on his shoulder.

"Good! Now that that's done with!" Lian turned to Sha Lin, "Tell us all about Seris and where we can find her!"

"Woah woah! Go slow princess!" Sha Lin chuckled, "I-"

"We have no choice." Sarah said, "I feel Seris' presence and dark energy loom over us at every moment we get closer to her. We need all we can- Do you know the secret to Seris' stand?"

Sha Lin pondered.  
"No, I don't… but I have felt its power before." He spoke, "It's something surreal… I can't explain it… It made me scared…"

"Scared enough to wet your pants again?" Lian chuckled.

"Come on, Lian, he's confessing to us!" Lex grumbled.

"Sorry, that'll be the last one."

"Anyways." Sha Lin continued, "I… Just don't know what to say, she is rather… unnerving. She does have a person that's unusually close to her. He was the one who led me to her."

"Wait, who is that?" Sarah stopped him.

"It's a man, around the height of cop man over here." Sha Lin nudged his head at Lex, "I don't know how he looks like. He always had this cloak over him that, in the shadows of where they were, always hid his face. He appeared to have white skin from what I could see… but he was always close to Seris, like, unusually close."

"It must be her right-hand man…" Lex postulated.

"Seris isn't the one to have that." Sarah retorted, "She's always been a one-man band…"

"No, believe me, this man was like her attack dog, I remember him commanding others with stands." Sha Lin said, "Like this elf girl, other than my Ying, of course, and this girl with a short haircut. He would always speak in the place of Seris, Seris only spoke to those who were apparently, in his words, worthy."

"He's telling the truth." Lex nodded, "I have heard many confessions, and his lines up to those who speak true."

"His soul shows the same." Sarah added, "I'm so upset we can't find out the secret to Seris' stand. But wait, do you remember where she is exactly?"

"Yes, she has two places where she lives." Sha Lin answered, "She has her place past Hadea in actual Seris, like, the actual blocked off part Seris, and one in the next town over from here."

"Really?" Sarah gasped.

"Yes. She has this… fortress… That's where I first met her by the way." Sha Lin commented, "On the edge of the town, it looks like an old Shalimeer Fortress."

"Ah! Al-Alhameed!" Abdalah exclaimed, "Yes, it's a fortress that once belonged to the people of this land before the times of the Magistrate. I've been there a couple of times, it's old, but I do know that it was owned by someone."

"You're saying it's in the next town?" Sarah asked.

"Yes!" Both Sha Lin and Abdalah spoke.

"Then we should make haste, you are alright now, aren't you, Zhin?" Sarah turned to the swordsman.

"Yes. Your Pyre has healed me." Zhin said and sat up, "We need to finish this." He shuffled around in bed, taking off the covers and finally standing up.  
He made Thousand Hands grab his robes and put it on him.

"W-What?" Yamina and Abdalah stepped back in shock at the apparent magical act of a hovering robe.

"Wait, what will we do with him?" Lian pointed at Sha Lin, who was putting on his red scarf and fixing himself to leave.

"I have one more thing to ask of you." Sarah interrupted the man's actions, "My sister… Seris-"

"I still can't believe she is your sister." Sha Lin chuckled, "You two are nothing alike."

"I know." Sarah responded, "But I want to ask you something… When you saw her, what did she look like?"

Sha Lin pondered.  
Sarah grabbed a nearby scroll and opened it up.

"Now Sha Lin, I'm going to need you that you really focus on how she looks." She spoke.

"You're her sister, you should know how she looks." Lian butted in.

"That was more than 20 years ago." Sarah responded, "She may have changed. I know I saw her in a vision, but it was cloudy and hidden, and frankly I don't remember well."

"Wait, you had a vision?" Lex asked with concern in his tone.

Sarah nodded.  
"We can't distract Sha Lin. Sha Lin, do you remember what she looked like?"

Sha Lin focused his memory.  
"She was always in shadows… And I could never get that close to her without the other guy jumping in. Plus without lights around her, it was just so faint."

"Just try to focus." Sarah urged him.

Sha Lin's eyes shut close and tightened.

Sarah also did the same as all her allies watched them with confusion. Her arm started to visibly glow with Pyre energy, which was noticeable to even Abdalah and Yamina.

"Pyre Divination!" she finally yelled and brought out Furious Flame, who, alongside its user, karate chopped the paper.  
Upon impact, a glowing fire raced across the surface of the parchment and then dissipated, leaving behind small embers and flakes of ash.

Sha Lin opened his eyes and saw the scroll that lay before him.

"By the gods." Lian gasped.  
"Hmmmm…" Lex mumbled.  
"Is that…" Zhin added.

"Seris…" Sarah murmured and brought up the scroll.

Upon its face was an image of Seris burned into the very fibers of the paper.  
She was covered by darkness and facing away, her face partly hidden by darkness except for her mouth and her chin. She was wearing a cowl but it was down, revealing she had braided blonde hair (due its lack of burned color) that came down to the middle of her shoulder blades.

Most of her back was exposed except for what was behind her chest area, which was covered by what appeared to be a corset.

"What is that…?" Lex came up and pointed at Seris' back, seeing all sorts of lacerations swirling across it.

"My work." Sarah responded as she glared at the picture, "As I have told you, Seris and I fought long ago before we had Stands." She spoke, "I only had the Power of the Pyre, which was the only thing that could kill what she had become… A Creature of the Abyss."

Sarah stepped set the scroll on the bed and stretched, then breathed in deeply.  
Her body started to glow with fiery radiance as she took a stance.  
"Shooting Kick!" she said and kicked with her right leg.

But what was most astounding was that her leg extended far beyond what would be assumed it could, reaching as far as the other end of the inn room before lightly tapping some flowers that were on a vanity desk in a glass vase.

The flowers were suddenly infused with the same burning energy that came out of Sarah until it infused with the water and caused the glass vase to shatter.

"That is the power of the Pyre in its rawest form." Sarah told them, but then wiped the sweat of her brow and gave out a labored breath, "Of course…. I'm not as young as I once was."  
She wheezed and fell to her knees.

"Sarah!" Lian ran to her side with Yamina, Lex, and Sha Lin.

"I guess I pushed myself really far." Sarah panted and coughed, "I'm fine..." she started to stand up with their help.  
"There's I reason I never use the Pyre's Divination… It's much too taxing." She shook her head and stretched her arms.

"I'm glad to hear that." Lian smiled and put her arm over her shoulder, "I think it's best we start heading out, we know what Seris looks like and places she may be. Hey, if we're lucky, she may even be in the next town over."

"Let's hope so." Zhin spoke.

"Wait." Sarah said and turned to Sha Lin, "Will you be joining us? We could always use the help of another stand user."

Sha Lin stepped back.  
"I'm afraid my journey leads me elsewhere. As much as I would love to help you all, I don't think it is the best idea." He informed and grabbed his sack, "I think I've helped as much as I could."

Sarah nodded.  
"I respect it. It is saddening, but I will not force anyone on this peculiar journey." She told him, "I wish you the best of travels."

"Plus, Seris is probably going to hunt me down anyways, so the least I could do is distract her and her friends by splitting up." Sha Lin chuckled.

"That's actually pretty wise." Lian commented, "I didn't expect that from you."

"Thank you, Princess." Sha Lin walked up to her, "Say, how about a little good bye kiss- OOF!" he was punched by the woman in the stomach.

"Oh yeah, and this is for shooting Lex." Lian uppercutted the man.

"Lian, that's enough!" Lex held her back.

"And you asked why I didn't join in…" Sha Lin picked himself up and rubbed his head, "Well, I will be leaving now." He waved and headed to the door.

"Good travels." Lian waved back.  
"Don't forget to pay your fine." Lex added.

"Right…" Sha Lin rolled his eyes.

"Good luck."

His eyes darted to see Zhin looking at him.

"Thank you." Sha Lin returned the favor with a bow, then stepped out the door.

000000000

"All set." Lex dusted off his gloves as he stepped away from the new wagon the Paladins acquired, "We are ready to continue our journey." He announced and walked to the front.

"Good, not a second to lose." Sarah looked at the Sun, which was still above the horizon though it was already starting to turn the sky orange.  
"We should stop resting in towns, I'm sure my sister will ramp up her efforts to assassinate us and innocent bystanders may get hurt."

"I thought that too." Lian said and picked up Moji, "You ready to go, Mo?" she asked her.

"Yes! I'm ready!" Moji responded and jumped off her arms and landed inside the wagon, "I'm just worried about Mr. Zhin." She said.

Surely enough, Zhin was with Abdalah and Yamina by their caravan.

"I wonder what they're talking about?" Lex asked as he saw their mannerisms and reactions during their conversation.  
"Or perhaps I already know."

"I think Zhin is doing the right thing." Sarah said, "Yamina has no need to take a part in our journey, she's much too vulnerable to my sister's stand users! I couldn't fathom if she got hurt, both for her sake and Zhin's."

"It's not like the two have known each other for a long time." Lian shrugged her shoulders, "I think it is best, then again, what do I know." She smirked and pulled Lex's ear.

"Hey!" Lex growled and stepped away, "Stop that!"

Zhin interrupted the shenanigans with his arrival.  
"Well, I got that sorted out." He gave out a sigh and looked at his friends, "Yamina will not be joining us."

"Shame, I thought you two would have gotten along well-" Lian was elbowed by Sarah.

"Hahaha…" Zhin grumbled, "Regardless, her father and I agreed that it would be too dangerous for her. It seems after seeing your leg spread out a mile that even he was taken back by our craziness. I think it was all for the best." He said, "Well then, let's not stand around like the government- No offense." He turned to Lex.

"None taken."

"We need to defeat Seris once and for all." Zhin said.

"You sure have new spunk in you." Lian commented on Zhin's lively behavior and raised spirits, "What happened?"

"I'm guessing all that hate being released sure gave you new strength." Sarah said, "I'm glad you could do it! I know that Sha Lin is such a creep-o, but he's a good person at heart."

Zhin nodded.  
"Let's not waste anymore time." He said and jumped in the wagon next to Moji, "How are you doing, Moji?" he asked her.

Lian stepped up to the front alongside Lex while Sarah used Furious Flame to carry her into the wagon.

"Are we ready?" Lex asked and turned back.

"Let's do this." Zhin responded.  
"Better now than never." Sarah added.  
"Let's go!" Moji cheered.

Lex turned to Lian.  
"Ready, Princess?" he asked her with a bow.

"Absolutely, we know what she looks like. Unfortunately for her she won't look like that after I'm through with her." Lian said and put her arm under Lex's.

"Let's do this!" Lex yelled, "No one escapes The Law!" he urged the horses to start striding, and the wagon took off.

The Paladins waved at Yamina and Abdalah as they passed by their caravan, giving them thanks for all they provided.

"Safe travels, my friends!" Abdalah called out, "Don't do anything to crazy, please!"

"It was an honor to meet you all!" Yamina smiled, but it died down when she saw Zhin at the back of the wagon waving back at her.  
The two kept looking at each other all the way through until the wagon turned the corner and was no longer in sight.

She looked down before turning to her father and his caravan and giving a small sigh.


	25. GOD APOLLO

**Lian's Peculiar Journey**

 **Chapter 25**

 **"God Apollo" Zigs**

* * *

"The Town of Andalicia." Lex spoke as he read the sign by the dirt road, "It doesn't look much like a town." He observed its rather large size.

"Andalicia is even bigger than the last town." Lian groaned, "How will we ever find that giant palace or whatever Sha Lin said it was?"

"Why don't we ask for a map?" Moji piped up.

"If only it was that easy, Moji." Lian grumbled, then saw Moji jump on her lap.

"Look!" Moji pointed ahead and saw a building labeled "Town Hall and Visitors Center", and outside of it was a large painted map on a wooden billboard.

"Bet you feel a bit stupid." Zhin came up and smirked, "Good job, Moji. Let's see what it has." He said and jumped off the wagon while it was still in motion.  
He nearly faceplanted the dirt but managed to gather enough strengths to rescue himself from that embarrassing fate.

"Zhin!" Moji called out and jumped out soon after and landed on his back.

"Hey!" Zhin laughed and started to run, "Guess you wanted a faster ride?" he sprinted ahead of the wagon.

Moji giggled and started to sniff the air.  
"Watch out!" she pointed ahead of him.

Zhin noticed that there was a pile of horse dung right ahead of him and jumped over it.  
"My thanks." He murmured and avoided a couple of travelers.

"You're welcome." Moji nodded and saw that they were nearly there, "Haph!" she jumped from Zhin's shoulders.  
"Po Li!" she called out her stand, which appeared and shifted itself into a board of wood.

Travelers saw as the Leipori started to glide through the air using this board before landing by the large map, at which point the clapped at the small spectacle.

"Now let's take a look! Po Li! You can rest!" Moji called away her stand and looked up at the map. From what she saw it was from a bird's eye perspective and not an isometric one. Even though, it loomed over her, she could still make out even the farthest corners of the board, though she did need to dust off her glasses first.

"Hmmm…" she pondered and followed roads and alleys, then she spotted something.  
A large mass was painted on the wood.

Al-Alhameed Fortress.

It was colored blue just like what was the label for a residence.

"Zhin! I found it! It's just down this road!" Moji called out to Zhin, who was still caught up with foot traffic, "Come! Let's go!"

"Moji! Wait!" Zhin called out as he pushed aside an ork, "Moji!"

Too late, she was already gone.  
"Moji!" he called out and looked for her, but with her small height combined with the forming crowds, it was becoming near impossible.  
"Good grief…" he groaned and turned back, "They're still a bit away. I need to look for Moji!"

Moji, however, had not noticed Zhin was no longer behind her and kept scampering through the legs of people and around them.  
"I remember it was this street, then two more before turning left!" she said to herself as she avoided the hooves of a horse.  
"Don't worry Zhin! We'll be there in no time!"

The Leipori scampered until she reached her intersection, then turned a sharp left, narrowly avoiding a wagon and its ox before finding a bench she hopped on.  
"Hmmm… AH ha!" she pointed ahead.

There was a large structure made of red sandstone, a massive building that towered over the surrounding structures. It was covered by a large stone wall that was visible even from her part of town, though it was rather small from her perspective.

"Zhin! I…" Moji turned around and looked for her friend, "Zhin! Where are you!?" she called out.

All round her were unfamiliar faces, worn out people, worn out places.

She jumped on a nearby horse to get a better vantage view.  
"Zhin! I'm over here!" she spotted the man behind a group of bards, "Zhin!"

She saw that the bards were playing a song to a nearby lady, thereby drowning out any noise from his end.

"I better use my familiar to signal him." Moji murmured and started to call out her stand.

"Let's go!" a man yelled and suddenly landed on the saddle behind her.  
"HYAPH!" he kicked the horse and it sped off.

"WOAH!" Moji nearly fell off the horse but managed to grab hold of the man's satchel, "Sir! SIR!" she cried out.  
"Oh why is he going so fast!?" she held her hat to her head as the rider yelled and blitzed past people.

It was then when she noticed what she was holding on to. It was a satchel filled with envelopes, scrolls, and packages.  
This man was a mailman.

The rider fixed his bright red cap and red scarf before waving a similarly red flag up into the air.  
"Mail! Mail! Mail Delivery! Clear through!"

The people in front of him started to part a path through the crowds to let the rider and his horse through.

Moji turned back to see that the corner she turned from was long gone, and so were Zhin and her friends.  
"Zhin…" she muttered, "Excuse me! Sir!" she said and started to tap the man on the back, "Sir! Sir!"

"Damn flies…" The rider grumbled as he started to swat his hand behind his back while maintaining a straight view forward, "must be the damn humidity."

"Sir!" Moji grabbed hold of his tunic and pulled on it.

"Huh!?" the rider finally turned to see Moji sitting right behind him, "Hey! When did you get on here!?" he growled, "No free rides, kid! I have packages to deliver!"

"Please, sir!" Moji responded, "I have to get to that fort!" she pointed ahead at Al-Alhameed.

The rider looked ahead and saw the fortress.  
"No way, Jose. That's off limits per owner's and the Town Lord's request! She never gets mail anyways!" he informed, "Now get off before I boot you off!"

"Watch out!" Moji pointed and grabbed the horse reins from the rider.

The horse neighed as it was directed to a sharp change of direction to avoid an old woman who had no way to escape its path.

"Woah!" the rider held his cap as Moji took the lead, "Hey! Give it back!" he reached for the reins again and seized control from the leipori.  
"Thanks, but that doesn't mean I will let you ride! Now where to drop you off…" he looked around.

"There's a crack on the road!" Moji alerted once again, this time catching the rider completely off guard.

"What!?" The rider said and did see a large crack on the road dead ahead, "Oh crap! That'll be the end of my horse! I can't stop him in time!" he cried out.

"PO LI!" Moji called out her stand, "Rock form!" she said.  
The lizard stand barked with its two heads and shifted itself into stone inside the crack.

The mailman's eyes widened as he just saw the crack magically filled with stone leveled enough for his horse to safely pass over.

Moji called back her stand and looked at the mailman.  
"Can you please take me to the fortress?" she asked.

"I don't know what you just did, but I'd rather get on your good side!" the mailman responded.

"I just hope Zhin will know to meet up with me at the fortress…" Moji told herself as she looked back.

The mailman made quick work of the long roads, using his authority as an agent of the state to tell the common folk to make way for his mission. He raised his flag on high and cried out above the murmur of the population to gain speed and clearance.

Moji could already see the walls of the fortress reach their true size, and it was not long before they were just a few blocks away.

The mailman noticed this as well and started to slow down his steed.  
"This is as far as I can take you." He informed as he made his way towards a mailbox at one of the corners, "There, that is the last mailbox in this end of town."

The horse snorted and huffed as it walked and stopped at the mailbox.

"Best of luck, whatever you're doing in there better be important." The mailman said as he fixed his hat.

"Why do you say that?" Moji asked as she lept off.

"There's rumors that that place is cursed." The mailman responded, "Many people are apparently invited in or get too close and are never seen again." He looked at the forboding walls, "Just recently two young men were killed in front of its gates. But hey, thanks again for saving my horse." He nodded and turned his steed around, then kicked it to ride off.

Moji sighed and noted that this part of town was mildly lively, yet she noticed not one of the people here dared to look at the fortress. The few people that did, she assumed, were tourists that did not live in the area.  
"I should wait for Zhin." She told herself, but then heard hooves hitting the road.

It was the mailman from before, and he had returned. However, he ignored her and rode towards the road that led to the fortress.

"What is he doing?" Moji ran behind him until she turned the last corner to the road directly in front of the fortress' gates.

There the mailman had stopped at one of the buildings directly in front of the fortress to drop off a large package.

A group of three people came out of the building but they were cloaked, thus their features hidden from Moji's view.  
However, Moji was hard at work looking for an angle to look at them, moving about from different positions to do so.

It was only until she reached the fortress wall when she caught attention.

A silent guardian was standing atop the fortress' central spire. Seris' bird.  
It glared at Moji with intent, noting that it was spying on the three figures and the mailman. Once it saw that Moji was getting precariously close to the gate that it swooped down and landed on a part of the wall.

The bird was hesitant at first, thinking Moji was just some curious child, but it was ready to strike if anything changed.

"ZIGS!" a voice called out from the streets, causing Moji, the bird, the mailman, and the three people to turn.

It was Cassie, walking on a crutch, waving at the bird.  
"Oh thank heavens, Seris kept you safe!" she smiled and walked up to the wall, "I've been in the hospital for a week and just now got the chance to take a carriage here!"

The bird swooped down and landed in front of Cassie, looking at her without sound.

"Zigs, are you ok?" Cassie asked, noticing her animal's quiet demeanor, "Is Seris here? I need to tell her something. I don't want to chase those people anymore, I just want to go back home."

"Wait a minute…" Moji looked at the woman, "Isn't that the one who attacked Lex and Lian? I remembered! She was the one with the animals!" she exclaimed.

"Come here, Zigs." Cassie opened her arms, "Cassie is here for you."

"Hey you booger!" Moji yelled, interrupting the entire scene with her outburst at Cassie.

The three figures turned back at her until one of them glance back at Zigs and gave an ominous and dreadful whistle.

Zigs started to hiss and puff its chest up at Cassie.

"Z-Z-Zigs?" Cassie stammered as her bird started to glow.

"What the…." The mailman was confused at the whole event.

"Is that…" Moji stopped in her tracks.

From behind the bird formed a figure, it appeared like a bird, but was entirely formed of golden polygonal shapes at the head with few rounded areas in the chest. It had long wings, also formed of polygonal shapes, that were silver in color and rested on its body without opening.  
Truly this figure looked like a bird missile.

"Zigs… Why are you taking that out… Why are you taking your friend APOLLO out?" Cassie started to step away from her pet.

The same figure with the mailman whistled a sharp pitch.

"SKEEEEE!" Zigs screeched and immediately disappeared from sight, leaving behind a cloud of dust from where it was originally standing.

"Where… Where'd he go?" Moji looked around for the bird but stopped when she heard a most disheartening sound.

"Ahh…." Cassie groaned as blood trailed down her mouth.

"By the Gods! I'm outta here!" The mailman yelled in horror when he saw that there was a hole clean through Cassie's chest.  
"Oh hell, screw this!" he ran to his horse.

The three figures stepped out into the street and the whistling one whistled once more before they walked to the gates of Al-Alhameed and opened it.

"Wait…" Moji looked at them, "Why are they going into t-" she noticed a shadow cast above her.

Zigs.  
He was soaring in front of the sun. His head was now turned to the mailman, and then he dove.

"Oh no!" Moji yelled, "Hey! Guy!" she called out to him, but the mailman had already taken off, "I need to save him! Po Li!"

Her stand came out.

"Sand Form!" she said, and Po Li shifted itself into a pile of sand that ejected itself into the air like a geyser.

Zigs saw this action and changed targets, but saw he did not need to do that as Moji was going towards the mailman.  
"CAW!" he cried out and dove with much greater speed.

His stand, Apollo, appeared in front of him, it's golden, sharp beak shining brightly.

"Ah! What the hell!?" the mailman yelled when he felt sand enter his red scarf, "What i- You!" he saw Moji was sitting right behind him, "What do you want!? You brought me into this mess!"  
He started to push her off, but then he heard a most terrifying sound.  
A screech.

Zigs rocked past the horse at a speed much faster than his comprehension.

"AGHAAAA!" a nearby innocent bystander suddenly had their right arm removed.

"Holy hell!" the mailman called out and urged his horse to go faster.

"Don't worry! I'll protect you!" Moji said.

"What are you going to do!? You're a stupid rabbit and that's a killer bird!" the mailman responded as he kept urging his horse to go faster.

"Trust me!" Moji looked up to the sky and saw Zigs returning towards them, "PO LI! ROCK ROLLER!"

Po Li appeared and turned itself into a rock, then shot out smaller rocks from its body at high speed.

Zigs saw this and screeched, causing his stand Apollo to shoot out shards from it's polygonal wings and destroy the stones, but it still dissuaded him from diving.

"How did you do that?!" The mailman asked.

"Keep riding! We have to lose him!" Moji responded without an answer, "Here he comes!"

Zigs dove, and in a blink of an eye swept down right by the horse's neck.

Moji saw that a piece of nearby stone wall fell clean off, alongside a wagon belonging to a civilian.  
"Hmmm." She pondered, "I think I know what his familiar does! It must make him cut through anything!"

"Like our heads!" the mailman lashed out, "Oh gods, I knew I should have stayed home today!" he groaned and maneuvered his steed through the light mass of people.

Zigs suddenly appeared from around the corner and hovered right in front of them.  
"SKRAWW!" he cried and used his stand to launch more shards.

"Watch out!" Moji pushed the man forward, causing him to hide behind his horse's head.

"NEEEEEAAAHHHH!" the horse screamed as shards pelted its body, causing it to come to a halt and knock both riders off its back.

"OOF!"  
"AGH!" Moji and the mailman landed in a wagon full of cabbages.

"What the!?" the vendor called out as other civilians ran to the scene.

"My horse!" the mailman said as he sat back up, then saw his horse speed off down the road, "Wait!"

"Mailman no!" Moji screamed.

Too late.  
A swift kicking wind was the only sound that resonated before the mailman stopped walking down the street.

"By the goddess!" an old crone screamed.

"What the!?" a civilian yelled as he stepped back.

"I knew I shouldn't have come to… work… today…." The mailman murmured as his left leg fell to the side before he collapsed to the ground.

Moji covered her eyes as civilians surrounded the man, then heard the flap of wings. She removed her paws from her face and saw that Zigs was perched atop a nearby street light.  
"You…. Big… Fat…. Meanie!" she yelled at him.

Zigs was suddenly pelted by a fury of sand that carried him straight into a wall.  
"CAWW!" he squawked in pain.

Moji made Po Li into a boulder.  
"Take this! Boulder Bash!"

Zigs saw the giant stone head towards him and immediately took flight, narrowly avoiding the object. "SKRRAAAAA!" he screeched and flew upwards.

"You won't get away that easy!" Moji growled but saw that Zigs had turned and was headed towards her, "Oh no!" she gasped and immediately ran to a nearby alleyway.

The kicking of wind sounded behind her as the lamppost from before was suddenly split in two and crashed with a metallic clang.

"As long as I stay down with cover from the sides, he won't be able to get me." Moji told herself as she kept watch behind her, "Who know- WHA!" she screamed when shards suddenly pelted the ground beside her.

Zigs was trailing behind to her and using his stand to shoot shards at her.

"This booger just won't give up!" Moji cried, "I wish Lian or Mr. Zhin were here! Oh… but I know I have to stand up for myself! I can't always count on them!"

Her face gained determination.

"Po Li! Sand storm!"

Zig snarled as his aim was suddenly hidden by a cloud of sand.  
In his anger, he dove straight into the cloud, only to come back up and see that it was all gone.  
Everything, including Moji. This raised concern and so he landed in the area where he last saw her.

Nearby, hiding in a clay pot, was Moji, looking at Zigs through a small hole.  
"That's it, just get closer…" she mumbled as she saw Zigs get close to a pile of sand, "Po Li will get you…"

Unfortunately for her, Zigs flew away at the last minute.

"Doo…" Moji grumbled, "I almos-"

"RAHHHHHHH!" Zig's beak suddenly poked through the hole.

"AHHHH!" Moji screamed and jumped out, then bolted towards the end of the alley.

Zigs turned and started to fly towards her, but before he could get his talons on her back she dove into a water pipe.  
"SKWAAA!" he crashed into the wall.

"Woah!" Moji said as she slid down the metal pipe, "Oof!" she landed inside the sewers.  
"Ewwww…" she said as the stench got to her, "At least I'm safe from that bird… It's best I go find my friends so we can take care of this together!"

She saw a manhole up head and jumped up to reach it.

CRASH!

Zigs had cut clean through the earth and entered the sewer system.

"AHHH!" Moji screamed and fell from the ladder she was on, crashing back to the ground with a thud and a bounce.

Zigs saw this and smirked, then walked up to the downed Moji and raised his talons. Infusing them with the power of his stand, he gave out a screech before striking.

Stuck. He was stuck.

Zigs looked in confusion as his right leg failed to move away from Moji before he saw the awful truth. The colors from Moji's body faded away to reveal that it was actually a marble statue of Moji.

"Gotcha!" Moji jumped down from the manhole ladder, "Po Li! Batter Up!"

Po Li shifted into a log of wood and struck Zigs.

"TAKE THIS!" Moji kicked Zigs back down and into the walls of the sewer.

Zigs screeched and slid down the walls as Moji landed safely nearby.

"It's done, feather brain!" Moji pointed at him, "You've big too big of a meanie! It's time to take you to time out!"

Po Li appeared behind her.

Zigs groaned as it tried to straighten its wings.

"I love to study animals, and I know big biffs hurt birds more than mammals!" Moji told him, "That's why I kept hitting you with hard objects!"

Zigs cackled.  
His stand appeared and went into his body, where his bones started to crack and hid body started to heal.

"What the… He must be using his stand to fortify his body! That's how he cuts through anything!" Moji gasped.

"SKRAAAAAA!" Zigs shot out shards from his stand.

"Woah!" Moji dove into the sewer water to avoid the attack, "I need to find help!" she surfaced, "No! I must defeat him! I can't let anyone else get hurt by this bully!" she looked up.

Zigs screeched and fired more shards into the water, causing it to rise up.

Moji used this opportunity for something clever, she called out her stand and surfaced.

Zigs saw this, but then saw that there was something under Moji.  
A board.  
A surfboard.

Moji was using the force of the now moving waters to escape.

Zigs was not pleased, and with an angry screech rocketed forward.

Moji yelped when she felt the bird miss her by centimeters, but the force he used in the air pushed the water even further.  
"Kowabunga!" she caught a big rise.

Zigs blocked her path and launched more shards with Apollo.

Moji saw this and kicked up her board, jumping over the attack and bopping Zigs in the head.

"RAAAA!" Zigs plummeted and fell into the sewer water.

"So long, silly bird!" Moji taunted as she continued down her path, "Thanks so much, Po Li!" she laughed as she surfed her way down the sewer.

Under the water, however, there was anything but "so long".  
Zigs opened his eyes and used his advanced sight to spot Moji even in the brackish liquid. He then flapped his wings, causing his stand to appear.  
All he needed.

All Moji heard was a sudden surge of water before Zigs suddenly exploded out from the surface.  
"AHHHH!" she screamed as a pain surged through her head, "MY EAR!"

Zigs was about to turn but he noticed that his attack had caused a large upsurge in water, all of which soon pelted him and flushed him down the pipe with Moji.

The waters spewed forth out into a nearby park pond, shocking nearby citizens who were enjoying their peaceful afternoon.

Moji was the first to surface, blood trickling down her head, but Zigs rocketed out soon after.

"SKWAAA!" Zigs cried as it locked back on to Moji, then gave her a glare that could kill.

"NYAHHHHH!" Moji shrieked, "Po Li!" she called out her stand, "Sand Storm!"  
Her stand came out and launched itself as a cloud of sand at its target.

Zigs smirked, knowing to well this was done out of desperation.  
"SKREEEE!" he screeched and dove head first, completely ignoring the sand

Moji closed her eyes when she saw the end was near, but dove quickly.

Zigs barely missed Moji's body, but managed give her a huge cut across her back since he saw all the blood coming out into the water.  
He snarled in annoyance and turned to the leipori, who was floating lifelessly under the water.

The bird gave out what could be construed as a laugh and called out his Stand.  
Apollo started to charge the shards on its wings in order to launch them.

"Caw caw caw…." Zigs murmured and pointed at her with his wing.

Moji suddenly turned her head and looked at him.  
"No today, poo brain." She told him.

Zigs shrugged it off, but then felt something in his wings.  
Mud?  
How did mud-

"I knew you were all wet and splashy from being underwater." Moji turned to face him, "So I launched Po Li at you in the form of sand. We know what happens to sand when it touches something wet, it becomes all icky, sticky, and it gets everywhere."

Zigs saw as the mud started to move across his feathers and body.

"Now you have Po Li all over you!" Moji yelled, "Po Li! BOULDER BASH!"

Po Li formed into a boulder entirely around Zigs, entombing and crushing him within stone.

"SKRAAAAAAW!" Zigs cried out and tried to use Apollo to burst out, but since he couldn't move his wings he could not use that ability.

"Now, Po Li! Send that bully to time out!"

Po Li shifted into mud that launched itself out of the water and let Zigs go, but soon changed itself into a giant stone bat that hit the bird when it descended.

CRACK!  
Zigs cried as he was launched far beyond the horizon, never to be seen again.

"Out of the park!" Moji cheered when she surfaced.


	26. Frightening Monsters and Super Weirdos

**Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins**

 **ARC III**

 **DESTINY'S CHILD ARC**

 **Frightening Monsters And Super Weirdos**

* * *

"Well, this is it." Lian said as they stood at the front of the fortress, "Seris' home."

"There there, Moji." Sarah held the leipori in her arms, "You did well in leading us here. I'm so sorry you had to fight that stand user alone."

"It's ok." Moji responded, "I've been taught by all of you that I have to do things on my own. I have to stand up for myself against meanies."

Lian and Zhin smiled.

"That's what I like to hear, Moji." Zhin gave her a thumbs up and looked at the iron gates, "So… you said that bird was the guardian of this place?" he asked.

"Uh Huh." Moji nodded, "He's gone now-"

"Doesn't mean there's no one here, but to show off." Lian smirked and brought out Power Khan.  
"RAH!" the hulking stand roared, "RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH!" it punched the large gates with ferocity.

SCREEEEE! The Iron gates bent and snapped at the sheer force of the stand before finally breaking off in a large crash and rusty screech.

The nearby neighbors and citizens stepped away and into their homes once they saw this event and even closed their windows with blinds.

"Worry not, citizens." Lex turned to those few civilians that were there, "I have been tasked by the Lord of the City to search for suspected treason to the Magistrate in this residence!" he pulled up his badge and showed it to them.

While calmed, those citizens made their way out of the street and back into the city.

"I thought we could be a bit quieter." Sarah grumbled as they stepped into the courtyard.

Though the fortress itself appeared quite lifeless and foreboding, the garden in the courtyard was very lively and even had animals like butterflies, humming birds, and ground squirrels scurrying about it. While some plants were a bit overgrown, trees like Pam-Pam fruit trees and Moonshine Trees were sprouting flowers and buds while dark colored flowers formed in bushes under them.

"I must say, for a psycho she does have a green thumb." Zhin commented as he saw what was a fountain and even a small pond with lily pads to their left.

"Don't let this distract you." Sarah growled, "My sister was always up for show, distracting you with elegance and charm to hide her true intentions. In fact, she could be lurking behind the door!" she pointed at the large oak doors that led into the fortress proper.

"Not a problem!" Lian laughed and stepped up the doors, "This will be easy! Power Khan! Let's make this an Open House!"

Power Khan appeared and cracked its knuckles, but before it could take its first swing something came crashing out of the stained-glass window above.

"LOOK OUT!" Lex yelled and brought out The Law and fired on the figure.

The figure fell to the ground behind Lian, revealing itself to be a zombie.  
However, before it could do any damage it succumbed to The Law's bullets and to the sun, soon turning into mere ashes.

"I told you that this will not be easy! Allow me…" Sarah pushed Lian to the side and stood in front of the doors.  
"Furious Flame!" she spoke and her stand came out, stretching its wings in the afternoon sun.  
"CROSSPYRE HURRICANE SPECIAL!"

Furious Flame joined its hands together in a praying stance and built up fiery energy alongside Sarah before sending out her arms in an explosive motion and launching multiple massive ancient glyphs of fire at the door.

The first glyph filled the oak doors with Pyre Energy, causing them to glow and reverberate with power, while the second flaming glyph overloaded it and caused the doors to erupt into the fortress.

KAPOOOM!

A wave of zombies gathered behind was stuck by the door and all were crushed and scattered.

The last three glyphs flew in and consumed the zombies spared from being struck, causing all of them to turn into ash as they cried out in agony.

After all the commotion died down, there was only silence.

"Holy hell." Lian said as the dust cleared away, revealing mounds of ash were the zombies were, "Sarah… That was pretty great."

Sarah exhaled and turned to her allies.  
"Told you." She said and stepped in, but not before covering her body with Pyre energy.

"Why are you doing that?" Moji asked.

"If a zombie tries to attack me, they will only hit my Pyre energy." Sarah turned back and informed them, "But it looks like there are no zombie-"

"RAH!" Power Khan suddenly appeared and punched a zombie that was about to land on Sarah.

"Looks like we are not done." Lex looked up to the roof and saw dozens of zombies clinging to the stone above them.

"RAHHHH!" the zombies gargled in their guttural scream and jumped down with their clawed hands facing towards them.  
While some perished in the sunlight streaming through the window, many more passed around it unharmed.

"Not very bright, are they?" Lex asked as he saw the apparent suicide of some of their enemies.

"I wouldn't talk now!" Zhin called out Thousand Hands, "Moji!"

"Got it!" Moji called out Po Li and formed him into sand.

"Cutting Sands!" Zhin directed Thousand Hands to use its sword to funnel sand Po Li into a tornado around its blade, then launched it at some zombies.

The sands tore and cut through the zombies and they tumbled down.

"The Law!" Lex saw that these zombies still were active, "10 Officer Police Shootout!"  
The Law made itself into ten copies and fired at the grounded zombies before turning their attention upwards and firing at those still falling.

"Let me handle this." Lian told Sarah, "I'm getting tired of these circus freaks ruining my dress!" she yelled, "Things could get ugly."

Power Khan yelled as he came out of Lian and immediately released a fury of punches.  
"RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH!"

All the zombies coming towards Sarah were pulverized and sent crashing into various walls and stone statues.

"And to finish this off!" Sarah saw that all the zombies were downed but still alive, "Furious Flame!" she called out her stand and launched spheres of pyre energy that homed in on the undead.

The zombies screamed as they were consumed by the Pyre and turned to ash.

"This was easier than I thought." Lian chuckled and made her way to the stone stairs that led to the darker parts of the fortress.

"Lian, stop charging into things!" Sarah growled and ran to her side, "You don't know what my sister could be hiding next! We all need to be careful."

"What a pain…" Lian sighed and shifted her tiara side to side, "I just want to beat the ever-loving mercy out of her already." She laughed as they reached the top of the stairs.

"We all do, Lian, but now's not the time to be foolish." Lex crossed his arms and looked the long dark hallway that was in front of them.  
"Let me handle this." He called out The Law and made one copy of it, "Let me scout ahead." He said and made the copy walk into the hallway while he focused.

"See anything?" Zhin asked as the moments went by.

"A group of armored zombies." Lex informed, "They aren't moving but they are hiding in some coffins inside adjacent rooms with no doors. Nothing yet, but it looks like there's a spiraling staircase at the end of the hall, nothing in the room containing it."

"Can you go up the staircase?" Sarah asked.

"I'm reaching the limit of my patrol range." Lex grumbled as he started to lose focus, "I'm at the base of the stairway… I can't go any further, but I can see that there is a group of zombies right above the ceiling on the stairs waiting for us."

Lex stepped back as the copy of his stand forcefully returned back into him.

"Good job, bud." Zhin patted the man on the back as he stepped forward, "Well you heard him, we can go now."

"Not you too." Sarah groaned, "You're just like Lian."

"Maybe we're related?" Zhin joked as they stepped into the hallway.

"Not a chance." Lian grunted and crossed her arms, "Moji, can you perhaps smell the zombies?" she asked the Leipori.

"All I smell is zombies…" Moji grumbled as she wiped her nose, "It's all icky."

"I told you where they were, Lian." Lex interjected, "Perhaps you can have more faith in me."

"Isn't it always good to double check?" Lian smiled and then saw doorways to adjacent rooms coming up ahead.

"Looks like we better get loaded for action." Zhin said as he took out Thousand Hands.

"Hmmm…." Moji looked at suits of knight armor on the sides of the hall, "Uh…" she tugged on Lex's pants.

"Hmm?" Lex looked down at Moji, "Yes?"

"I feel something watching me." Moji said and pointed at one of the suits of decorative armor.

"Don't be silly, Moji." Lian scoffed, "These dusty old pieces of armor have been here for ages, no way they were moved without all this dust on them being cleaned off." She said and wiped one of the chestplates, "See-HWAK!"

The armor she wiped moved its arm and strangled Lian.

"RAH!" Power Khan came out and slammed the armor's head into the wall, revealing that there was a zombie inside of it.

"Have they been waiting here for ages?!" Lian groaned as the rest of the suits of armor stepped down from their pedestals and charged at them.

"Run!" Lex yelled and they stared to flee.

When they passed the rooms the zombies inside the coffins sprung to action and joined their comrades in their chase.  
"RAHH!" the horde roared violently as it pushed its mass through the narrow hall.

"Enough running!" Zhin growled and stopped in his tracks.

"Zhin!"

"We're running straight into a trap!" Zhin told Lian, "Remember what cop man said, there's some of these freaks waiting for us at the stairs!"

Lex remembered his report and also stopped.  
"He's right, THE LAW!" he called out his stand, "5 Officer Police Shoot Out!"

"Glad you can join me!" Zhin said, "Thousand Hands!" he directed his stand to start cutting through the mass of zombies.

"Open fire!" Lex directed his stands to fire at the horde, "Zhin! Watch out!" he saw that a zombie had broken through and lunged at the swordsman.

However, before it could get its claws on him, a large stone pillar appeared from the ground in front of Zhin and crushed the zombie into the roof.

"Po Li!" Moji jumped next to Zhin, "Rock Slide!" she said and caused Po Li to turn into small boulders and roll down the hallway, knocking many zombies down.  
"STRIKE!" she cheered.

"We're clearing up over here!" Sarah and Lian called out from behind them as they fought the zombies that jumped down the staircase.

"Almost done here." Lex informed as the mass of zombies was whittled down to two standing individuals, both of which were cut in half by one swipe of Thousand Hand's Sword.

"We are done here. Let's see how the girls are doing." Zhin chuckled as they all retracted their stand and walked towards the staircase.

Lian finished off the last zombie with Power Khan and called it off.  
"Ready to move on, boys?" she asked and saw that Sarah was dusting herself off.

"Let us continue on our way." Lex said and led the group of the stairs with two of The Law in front of him, "Looks like there is nothing here." He said when they reached the next floor.

It appeared to be a library dotted with stone columns connected by Arab-esque arches, the floor was made of red sandstone that was cracked at parts seemingly due to the age of the fortress.

"Shh…." Sarah said as she cut off Lex and filled herself up with Pyre Energy.

"It's so dark…" Moji mumbled as only a few faint crystal lights lit up the vast room.

"Better for Seris to attack us-" Sarah stopped when she saw a figure sitting behind a large desk by some bookcases.

A single candlelight was on her, but it was clear who she was.

"Seris!" the Paladins yelled when they saw the braided blonde hair on the person.

"We finally found you!" Lian called out, "Now it's time to pay before being such a pain in the ass for me and my friends!"

"Lian! Wait!" Sarah tried to stop her.

Power Khan yelled as he came out of Lian.  
"RAH!" he punched the person on the head.

"GRAHHH!" the person crashed into the bookshelf behind her, revealing it was the zombie of a woman who had blonde hair just like Seris.

"What the…" the Paladins stepped back.

"It wasn't Seris." Sarah walked up to where the downed zombie was, "Rest now, woman." She said and struck her with the Pyre, turning her to ash.

"How did you know?" Lex asked with curiosity.

"Zombies do not have souls, as they are merely reanimated undead." Seris informed them, "Though they are creatures of the Abyss just like my sister, Seris is a living conduit of the darkness. I saw that this person had no soul and thus could not be her."

"So what you're telling us is that this was just a sick joke from Seris?" Zhin asked.

"Are you expecting better from my sister?" Sarah scoffed and saw a glowing crystal ball on the desk, "Hmmmm…" she inspected it with a touch from her hand.

"Hello, sister." A voice familiar to Sarah spoke from the crystal interior, and then an all too familiar person appeared from the purple smoke within.

"Seris…" Sarah snarled, but noticed it was just some pre-spoken vision.

"I see you have found where I reside, though I doubted I could nevertheless take action to remove myself from confrontation with you and your filth." Seris continued, "If you are watching this projection that means you have defeated my little pets, which I know they were more of an annoyance than a threat."

"Tell me about it." Lian crossed her arms.

"As you view this, I am already leaving this fortress to greener pastures, but don't worry… I always leaving my guests in good hands." Seris finished and her hidden appearance disappeared.

A sudden horse scream and whip crack sounded from an open window near them, causing Lex to run to it.  
He looked out and saw a pitch-black carriage with no windows drawn by four dark horses come out of a portico and rode to an open gate in the wall.

"She's getting away!" Zhin, who had reached the window along with everyone else, pointed at the carriage.

"Let's see if I can get her! No one escapes The Law!" Lex called out his stand and aimed its arm magnum.

But at the moment he was about to fire, the carriage suddenly vanished, only leaving behind a dust cloud and trail that went out of the gate.

"What the…" Lex stepped back and retracted his stand, "Where did she go?"

"I don't know!" Lian looked at him.

"She just vanished." Sarah muttered, "Is this the secret to her stand?" she asked herself, "I don't understand it."

"We need to get out of here and see if we can catch up!" Zhin told them as he fixed himself to spring back down, only to stop in his tracks.

"We need to get to our wagon, it's almost sundown-" Lian also stopped.

One by one the Paladins stopped in their tracks as they turned away from the window.

"What the hell…" Lian saw that the library room was now empty, no bookshelves, no desks, no chairs, nothing.  
Just the door and the columns in a now vast and vacant room.

"What's… going on…" Sarah looked back at the window and saw that it was now night, "Lian… didn't you just say it was sundown?"

"Yes! That's what happened when we looked out the window." Lian grumbled, but then felt something dry by her lip.

"Hold on." Lex grabbed her face and looked at it, "Is this? Saliva?" he asked as he rubbed the dry flakes from her skin.

"Sarah, now that I notice." Zhin looked at the woman, "Your hair is all over the place…" he squinted.

"Huh?" Sarah said and felt her hair, "I thought I combed it. It was probably from fighting those zombies."

"No, your hair was alright." Lian commented, "Moji, however."

"Oh…" Moji groaned as her fur was all over the place.

"Whatever happened, it is not right." Lex looked around, "We need to… To… HUAH…" he yawned and turned back to Lian, "Lian…"

"Are you alright, Lex- Lex!" Lian grabbed Lex when his body slipped, "Lex!"

"Something's…" Lex mumbled as his eyes started to close, "Not… right…."

"Sarah, what-" Lian stopped when she saw Sarah was sitting down on the ground and bobbing her body back and forth, "Sarah?"

"I'm just so…" Moji fell on her back.

"Lian… What's-" Zhin saw that Lian's eyelids started to flutter, "What's… ahhh…" he exhaled and fell to his knees, "So…. Sleepy…."

The two fell to the ground.

Audible breathing and snoring started to resonate through the room.

But it was only for a few minutes as Lex woke up at the sound of footsteps and moving objects.  
"Is there anyone ther- Lian!" he shoved Lian.

"I'm awake…" Lian groaned as Lex picked her up.

One by one the Paladins woke up from their nap.

"What happened?" Moji asked, "I d-" she saw a most peculiar sight.

"Who's there!" Sarah yelled at a figure underneath a crystal light.

This figure was sitting on a red recliner and reading a book.

From the lighting they could tell it was a woman, but not blonde haired like Seris. She had short brown hair that reached her shoulders and was wavy at the end.

"I'm glad you have come… My mother was expecting you." She spoke.


	27. THE CHILD OF NIGHTMARES

**Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 27**

 **THE CHILD OF NIGHTMARES, SERICA**

* * *

"Who are you?!" Sarah pointed at the woman, who kept reading her book and completely ignored the question.

"Is that another zombie?" Lian asked.

"No, zombies are brutes, they can't speak much less read." Sarah told her, "Plus, I see she has a soul."

"Good, now I get to do this then!" Lian ran to the woman, "Power Khan!"

"Lian!" Lex yelled.

The woman on the recliner slightly lowered her book and shook her head.  
"I see I have to get dirty." She smirked and stood up.

Her body started to glow as a figure formed behind her, something that shocked all of them.

"She's a stand user! Lian, get back!" Sarah yelled at her.

"Nothing can withstand Power Khan!" Lian responded as she kept her stand in action.

"RAH!" Power Khan yelled and raised its fist, however, before it could raise its fist it suddenly disappeared.

Lian collapsed without a single warning.

"Lian!" Sarah ran to her side, "L- She's still alive!" she announced, "She's… asleep." She saw that her soul was a cool blue.

"Of course she is." The woman revealed herself in the light of a light.  
She had light skin, red lips, and purple eyes, her facial structure was similar to Seris' but it was narrower with thicker eyebrows from what Sarah could recollect.

Her face had a distant and prideful demeanor, and the intent of her stride amplified it. She was wearing a tight purple tunic dress covered by a leather vest. Her legs had purple stockings and on her feet were black sharp-point boots that reached up to her knees

"Pardon me." She said nonchalantly, "I seem to have forgotten to introduce myself, how rude of me." She gave a taunting bow.

"My Name is Serica, daughter of Seris."

Sarah gasped.  
Lex stepped back.  
Zhin shook his head.  
Moji hid behind Lian.

"Daughter?" Sarah did a double-take, "By the Pyre, you're telling me she had a child?" she growled and looked at the stranger.

"Child?" Serica scoffed, "As in just one?"

"OH MY PYRE!" Sarah screamed in horror, "No no no no! This can't be happening."

"Oh but it is…" Serica smirked and strutted towards them, "And I have been assigned by my dear old mother and angry father to take all of you, dead or alive." She ran her hands through her hair, "And as you have seen, I have the means to do it!"

She took out her stand, which had a feminine shape and had a purple mask over its glowing white eyes. It was covered in silver studs all across its shoulders and the head and the shoulders were a dark blue. The stand's body was metallic, but a dull metallic without sheen or shine. On its hands however, were white balls that sat upon its knuckles. The stand had a black belt around its slender waist with a large silver buckle that went up to where a bellybutton would be. Finally, its legs were slender and covered with black boots with silver spikes and the heel.

"Your familiar!" Moji pointed at it, "Sarah! Look!"

"Yes… It must have some secret power that makes people fall asleep." Sarah postulated.

"A wise observation, Auntie Sarah." Serica chuckled, "I know you all felt its power when you woke up from your nap by the window! Oh I love it when I get the one up." She moaned, "It was such fun watching all of you asleep while my siblings and I moved all the furniture! Oh how pathetic!"

"You miserable wench!" Zhin yelled and called out Thousand Hands, but before he could do anything he immediately fell to the ground and fell asleep.

"Ah… how sad." Serica mumbled, "But yes, that is the power of my stand:

EVERYBODY DIES IN THEIR NIGHTMARES!"

She proclaimed and pointed at them, "Are you ready for me?" she said in a sensual tone.

"Uh…." Moji's eyes became heavy and she fell on her back.

Sarah sat down on shook her head.

Lex himself was starting to get drowsy, but maintained enough focus to stay awake, "I will…" he called out his stand.

Serica noticed this and looked at him.  
"Oh what a naughty boy…" she sighed and pointed at him, "Go to sleep, mama will take real good care of you…" she giggled.

"The…. Law…." Lex murmured as his eyes opened and shut, "Will…. Win!" he gained a sudden boost of energy.  
The Law aimed its arm cannon at her.

"My my, wanting to play rough, are we?" Serica said as she strutted towards the stand, "No matter, I like it rough. Everybody Dies in Their Nightmares!" she called out her stand.

The stand appeared and walked up Zhin.

Lex tried to focus his vision to shoot at Serica, but he was getting far too sleepy to even act. Unfortunately for him, his hesitation led to a most peculiar event.

Serica's stand grabbed Zhin by the back of the head with its left arm and swiped its right hand over the man's forehead.

A glowing orb appeared in its hand which in turn it put in its belt buckle.

The stand walked over to Lian and did the same thing, but when it put her glowing orb in its buckle it took out Zhin's orb and put it into her. It in turn did the same to Zhin.

Once everyone was asleep Serica took the opportunity to direct her stand to the others. She swapped out Sarah's orb with Moji's but put Lex's orb in Sarah.

"Now the fun begins…" Serica laughed and walked over to the other end of the room, where an assortment of weapons lay.

It was during this walk that everyone's tiredness left them and they started to wake up.

"Uh… Dammit… she got us again…" Sarah growled and pounded her fists on the floor, "Sh-" she stopped when she felt a rather peculiar feeling.  
Fur.  
"What the-" she saw red fur on her hands, scratch that, paws, "Hey-"

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Lian shrieked, causing all of them to turn, but it was not Lian's body who made the noise.  
It was Zhin's.  
"What the hell!?" Lian screamed as she saw that she was in Zhin's body, "What's going on!?"

"I'm wondering that myself…" Lex murmured as he saw the he was now in Sarah's body, "Sarah, I assume you must be in Moji, that means Moji-"

"What's going on, Mr. Zhin?" Moji's child-like voice came out of Lex's tough body.

"I couldn't be damned…" Zhin responded as he looked at his new slender legs compliment of Lian's body, "Or maybe I could…" he murmured and opened up the neck opening of his dress.

"ZHIN!" Lian erupted.

"Ooh nice…" Zhin nodded and closed it, "I think I could be damned." He patted his hindquarters.

"Enough Zhin!" Sarah yelled at him, "We need to find Serica!"

"I'm over here!" Serica called out from the other end of the room as she pulled out an assault rifle, "Ready to have fun with all my new toys…" she smirked.

"I'll handle this! Power Khan!" Lian yelled.  
But Power Khan didn't appear.

"I can't take out my stand either!" Lex responded as he tried his hardest to take out The Law.

"It must appear that her stand also has the power to move souls around!" Sarah informed, "That means, none of us could use our stands since she may have disabled them… or maybe these new bodies are not meant for them!"

"That means we're just regular people!" Lian said.

"More fun for all of us." Serica called out as she chambered a round into the rifle, "Now let's get this started!" she aimed and started to fire.

"Watch out!" Zhin yelled and they all bolted.

"Oh… am I too rough for you all?" Serica sighed as she aimed at Lex, "Come out a play with me, it's no fun being left all alone." She stopped firing and rubbed her left thigh.

"This wench is crazy!" Zhin yelled as he ran to another column, "Damnit!" he tripped.

"Zhin!" Lian called out.

"Your stupid high heels!" Zhin picked himself up before Serica started firing at him, "Can't you wear anything normal!"

"Lex, you carry concealed magnums!" Sarah told Lex as they hid behind a column together, "We're not unarmed!"

"You're right." Lex responded, "But Moji has my body right now." He pointed to Moji, who was a column behind Lian.  
"Moji!"

Moji turned.

"Check the holsters!" Lex told her.

Moji looked down at Lex's body and saw two leather holsters at her hips, but then saw that they were empty.  
"There's nothing here!" she informed but jerked her head back when bullets came her way.

"She must have taken them out when she put us to sleep." Lex grumbled and looked back at Serica.

She was reloading.

"Now's our chance! Everyone! Go back downstairs!" Lex yelled to his friends as he bolted.

"Oh come on!" Zhin growled as he followed behind, but his heels were making this much more difficult than anticipated, "I'm going to get you back for this, Lian!"

"Learn how to walk, you idiot!" Lian responded as she picked up Sarah (in Moji's body) and sprinted behind Lex.

"Don't leave just yet, the fun has just begun…" Serica said as she quickly grabbed another preloaded weapon, a bolt action.

"CRAP!" Zhin yelled as a round whizzed past him, "HWAK!" another struck his lower back.

"Zhin!" Sarah called out from the stairs.

"Good…" Serica aimed down on the rifle straight and Zhin's head, "Oh… this is going to hurt." She pulled the trigger.

Zhin closed his eyes, then remembered all the people he stood for.  
"No!" he flipped himself over and faced the incoming round, "ZYAHHHH!" he focused as hard as he could.

A translucent figure appeared before him holding a sword and cut the bullet in two, but disappeared quickly after.

"Was that-"

"Thousand Hands!" Zhin gasped when he noticed what happened, "How?"

"Hrrmmm…" Serica snarled, "They must be getting to used to their new bodies. No matter… They won't escape." She saw Lex help Zhin up and walk towards the stairs.  
"Everybody Dies in their Nightmares!" she set down the rifle and called out her stand, "Give them the big sleep for me, darling!"

The stand put its arms to its chest and then spread them out.

"We need…." Lian yawned as she started to stumble on the stairs, "To…"

"Get out of here! She's using her stand!" Sarah cried out as they tried to go down the stairs but she was now succumbing to its effects, "She's…. going…"

"Hrrrr…" Zhin groaned as he leaned on the staircase rails and slid down, "I will…"

Serica saw that the last of them had fallen to the ground and picked up two magnums, "Let's take one out for good measure while we swap them again." She told her stand as they strutted their way towards their downed foes.

She reached the Paladins and looked at them, then pointed the magnums.  
"Oh… which one to do away with." She said and scanned her foes with her weapons, "I could take out Sarah's body right now for mother, but really, I want to have some fun with her." She bit her bottom lip and turned to Lian's body, "Her? Oh she looks like she can be such a sadist, the thought of it excites me! Oh, I'll just go with the law man here… He's going to be too uptight." She aimed the magnums and Lex's body.  
"Swap them out for me, darling." She told her stand.

Everybody Dies in their Nightmares picked up Lex's body and swapped its soul out with Sarah's, then took Moji's body and swapped it with Zhin's.

 **A/N:** **This would put Lex's soul back in his body, Moji's soul in Sarah's body, Lian's soul in Moji's body, and Sarah's Soul in Zhin's body.**

Serica and the stand stopped when they noticed Zhin was going to either be in his original body or have to stay in the new body he had been becoming accustomed to.

"Hmmmm. Oh I'll decide after I kill him." She shrugged her shoulders and aimed Lex's magnums at the owner's legs and fired.

Lex woke up in and yelled in pain.

"Oh the ecstasy!" Serica moaned as she fired another round into the man's arm.

"ARGH!" Lex continued yelling, and although he was awake his friends were still under the spell of the enemy stand.

"Does this hurt?" Serica taunted as she fired another round into his other leg, "Oh! Beg for me to stop!" she pouted sensuously.

Lex panted.  
 _I can't call out The Law fast enough to survive that encounter._ He thought to himself and looked at his assailant.

"Do it!" Serica caused her stand to punch him in the face, "Plead! Plead!"

Lex covered his face from the assault, but then noticed something.  
Serica's stand wasn't particularly strong.

Even though it was punching him with prepared and wound up fists, it felt as if a regular person was strongly slapping him.

 _It must overcome this with its sleep ability._ Lex thought to himself, _A weak stand cannot fight directly._

"I SAID BEG!" Serica screamed and caused her stand to put its boot to his head and pin him to the ground.

"Never!" Lex growled.

Serica fired a round into his chest.

"HNGH!" Lex's eyes widened.  
 _My chestplate took the most of it…. But my ribs felt like they snapped into my heart_. He groaned in agony.

"I will make you cry out my name!" Serica yelled.

 _I would rather die attempting to save them than on the ground like a dog!_ Lex glared at Serica, "Very well, Serica!" he responded.

The Law appeared.

"Ah ha!" Serica aimed her magnum at the man's head, "I won't let you get away with that!"

The Law did not aim at the woman, but pistol-whipped her stand with its arm cannon on its right arm, which in turn translated to its user and made her magnum jerk to the left a little.

While the round still struck him in the shoulder, Lex used this distraction to turn The Law towards Zhin and fire a round into his stomach.

"Hurting your friends?" Serica recovered and shot the man in the chest again, "You're as sick as I, lawman." She giggled, "Aww… your friend didn't want to join us?" she observed that The Law was recalled.  
"What a shame, I always love new toys…" she smirked, "But you're no fun anymore m-" she saw that a blade was sticking through her gun hand.

Nearby, Zhin was wide awake and smiling at her as a weak projection of Thousand Hands was there with its sword drawn.  
"Hey there, sister."

"I'm not a fool to give up so quickly!" Lex suddenly called out The Law again and used his opportunity to shoot Serica in the stomach.

"AHHHHH!" Serica screamed as she was sent flying back.

"Nice one." Lex turned to Zhin, "The good part is I have my body back, so I can use my stand to defeat her."

"I would destroy her weapons first." Zhin responded and pointed to the cache of firearms at the other end of the room.

"Right." Lex nodded and called out two copies of the law, "Fire!" he ordered them.

The stands fired upon the weapons, causing their ordinance to explode and destroy themselves. They then turned to fire at Serica's magnums, destroying them as well.

"I still haven't quite mastered Thousand Hands in this body." Zhin informed, "Though I won't say it isn't a fine body." He looked at Lian's backside again, "I think I could stay like this forever."

Lex rolled his eyes.  
"Quickly!" he turned back to Serica, who was starting to sit up, "We must eliminate her or disable her-"

"My stand?" Serica giggled, "You mean the one right there?" she pointed next to Lex.

Lex turned and saw Everybody Dies in their Nightmares appear next to him.  
"What the- AGH!" he was punched in the face and pushed towards Zhin.

"Oof!" the two collided and fell to the ground.

Lex was atop of Zhin and holding his….  
Chest?

"What the hell!?" Zhin snarled and shoved him, then covered his chest.  
"At least blink, you weirdo!"

Lex shook his head, then saw Serica's stand over him.

"Take it away!" Serica ordered and Everybody Dies in their Nightmares swiped its hand across Lex's chest, taking out his soul.

"Hrrr! Thousand Hands!" Zhin concentrated, but his stand was taking long to manifest.

And by the point a sword even formed it was too late.

Serica's stand swiped across his chest and took its his soul, then swapped the two.

"Wah!" Lex yelled and felt his head spin, but it was not his head.  
"I'm… a woman!" he called out.

"Not just any woman…" Lian's voice called out, and Zhin and Lex saw that the others had woken up, "I- Not again." She groaned and felt fur around her skin.

"Owie…" Moji groaned and rubbed her brunette hair, "Oh… I'm Ms. Sarah now!" she looked at herself.

"No time to talk! We need to finish off Serica!" Zhin said as he stood up, "Wow, I feel taller." He felt the height of Lex's body, but was then overcome with a huge shock of pain and agony.  
"Damn it!"

"My body is still injured." Lex commented as he shuffled to Zhin's side, "Sarah, I would ask you to heal him, but your stand is gone."

Sarah walked over to Zhin as she flicked back his body's long black hair, "It doesn't matter." She said and breathed in deeply.

Her allies and Serica saw as a fiery energy overcame Zhin's body.

"No way…" Lian mumbled as the Pyre surrounded Sarah.

"Hah!" Sarah slapped Zhin on the back, causing a surge of Pyre energy to surge throughout his borrowed body.

Zhin exhaled the remaining Pyre energy and felt a surge of relief fill his bones and flesh.  
"I am healed." He stood up firm and noted the wounds from the magnums were gone, but there were still scars.

"It's not as effective." Sarah commented, "In fact, I didn't know I could even use it effectively, but that's the beauty of the Pyre… We are all living conduits of it." She looked at her fists and built up some Pyre energy in them.

"I knew that would be a set back." Serica snarled, "I should have killed you first!" she screamed and pulled out a small crystal pistol from her cleavage.

"Watch Out!" Sarah said and protected Lian with her new body.  
She took in a deep breath and maintained focus despite the thundering of the firing gun.

"HAH!" she brought out her hands and swatted the bullets away while using the Pyre to heal the wounds from the rounds.

"Take this!" Serica continued to fire.

Sarah could barely keep up with the incoming fire and was now having to expend more Pyre energy into healing herself than maintaining the superhuman strength and reflexes to deflect the bullets.  
"Hrrrrrr." She muttered as the pain started to get to her, "If only I had my original body. I haven't quite mastered how to conduct the Pyre in this one. DWAK!" she was finally hit in center mass and sent crashing to the ground.

"Sarah!" her allies yelled.

"Mother is going to love this." Serica giggled and cooled off the pistol's crystal magazine, "All she need is your blood to play with, Auntie."

"Disgusting creature!" Lex called out.

"My my." Serica sighed, "I wasn't that mean to you…" she smirked and looked at Sarah rising from the ground, "Auntie, I'm afraid I can't let you live."

"Like mother like daughter." Sarah dusted off her shoulders, "Tell me, Serica, was it? Are you truly my sister's daughter?"

"Yes, you can check for yourself." Serica responded and brought out her stand, then made it scratch her on the right cheek.  
"Oh…" she moaned as blood came out, then put some on her hand and swiped it towards them.

The Paladins groaned in disgust as drops of blood landed around them, but Sarah raised her hand and caught some droplets in it.

"Sarah, what are you-" Zhin stopped when Sarah lowered her hand and caused the Pyre to surround it.

Sarah received a vision through the Pyre via the blood.  
It was…  
Her. Seris was looking at her face-to-face, but even then her face was still clouded in shadows.

There was a nice break with the appearance of a man standing next to Seris. He had light skin, green eyes, and dark hair like charcoal. He was of shapely build and was wearing light armor that covered dark blue tunic and pants.

"Impossible." Sarah snapped out of the vision and glared at Serica, "You are the daughter of Seris."

"Are you serious?" Lian shook her head.

"I did not think she could have children." Sarah spoke, "As a creature of the Abyss, she is straddling on the line between living and dead… It should be impossible-"

"Yet here I stand. And not only me, but others." Serica chuckled, "Oh Auntie, are you jealous? Though knowing what mother has told me, you may not be, considering you ha-"

"Enough!" Sarah growled and walked towards her, "Before I defeat you, I will ask you one thing, rotten child, what is the secret of Seris' stand! You surely know seeing she raised you."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Serica lied as strutted away from them, "You should know my mother is secret-keeper."

"She wasn't always that way, Serica." Sarah walked towards her.

"Ah yes, the Golden Years." Serica chuckled and turned to face her, "What wonderful times were those."

"Yes they were." Sarah clenched her fists, "It surprises me that you are not a creature of the Abyss. I would have thought being a child of such scum would cause you to be that as well."

"Mother needed for someone to be outdoors aside from daddy."

"How about your siblings-"

"Getting too far ahead of yourself, auntie." Serica pointed at her, "Why should I share my family with someone like you? Even if you are related to us, there's nothing more scornful than someone who actively tries to ruin family fun."

Sarah breathed in deeply and built up Pyre Energy in her hands.

"Sarah, don't…" Lian whispered when she noticed Serica start to recharge her pistol.

"Give me a few more minutes, I feel like I can remaster Thousand Hands." Zhin added.

"I can't risk it." Sarah responded while looking at Lian, " I'm the only one here with a consistent power to protect us. Stands are useless against her… this will require my baser power." She took another deep breath.  
"And thanks to your young, healthy body, Zhin, I feel much stronger than in my frail woman body." She joked.

"Alright! Enough chatter and let's get straight into the action!" Serica turned and pointed her pistol at them.

"It's now or never! It is the time for action, as someone special to me used to say." Sarah told her allies and turned.  
"Serica! It's over!"

Serica was shocked when her enemy gained a sudden surge of superhuman speed and was already in front of her before she even put her finger on the trigger.  
"AH! EVERYONE DIES IN THE-"

Sarah interrupted Serica's calling forth of her stand with a crippling Pyre-filled punch to her gut.

"EYAHHH!" Serica screamed as she was knocked a meter into the air.

"Haaaaa…." Sarah took a deep breath and focused on the firm hands of Zhin's body, "Kindling… Ember… PYREDRIVE!" she sent out her fist in a blaze of Pyre energy.

Serica felt the foreign Pyre energy surge through her body and heat her insides before it expelled itself with an ethereal explosion that destroyed her pistol and the hand holding it.

Lian gasped in shock as their foe crashed into the far away wall with a powerful crash.

"Ha… Ha…" Sarah panted and expelled the last of the Pyre energy from her body, "It helps I have this body, but she is not dead." She turned to Zhin, "Zhin, have you mastered your stand again?"

"No, give me more time." Zhin responded as he made his stand's head, chest, and left arm appear for a brief moment.

"It's really difficult to kill a normal person with the Pyre." Sarah told them, "As the Pyre is not a taker of life, but a giver of it. This is why it kills the undead, as they cannot tolerate the fiery living power."

"I am also trying to regain my stand." Lex added, "Zhin, can you perhaps enlighten us on how you do it?"

"I concentrate on myself, as a fighting spirit is the projection of my soul… not my body." Zhin responded, "As Sarah told us."

"A wise woman she is." Sarah smiled, but turned alertly when she heard shuffling.

"You Bastards!" Serica screamed and called out her stand.  
"I will cast you all into an endless sleep!"

"We need to get out of here!" Moji cried out when she saw the sheer hatred coming out of Serica's voice.

Her allies heard her voice and they sprinted towards the stairs again.

"It's too late! Serica cried out and pointed at them. Her stand then brought all its limbs into its center mass, hovering in a fetal position, and built up a purple and white mist around it.

"We need to get out of here!" Zhin yelled as they ran down the hall they fought the armored zombies in.

"Gods know what she will do next!" Lian added as they made their way down to the stairs that led to the entrance.

"Too late…" Serica murmured and coldly smirked.  
"EVERYONE DIES IN THEIR NIGHTMARES! MOONLIGHT!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

Her stand gave out an equally massive shout as it explosively stretched out all its limbs.

A soft wind raced across the empty fortress.

The Paladins were nearly at the gates, but saw that the main gate had been blocked off with the wreckage of their wagon and other wooden and stone objects.

"Damn it!" Lian snarled, "Zhin! Cut out a path!"

"Alright!" Zhin called out a newly revitalized Thousand Hands, "Thousand Ha-" he paused when he felt a soft gust of wind pass by him.

A thud sounded behind them.

Lex turned to see an owl had collapsed behind them.

"Huh?" Sarah mumbled.

"What!?" Lian saw a nearby pedestrian had suddenly collapsed as he tried to open his home's door.

"Uh…" Moji saw a merchant suddenly fall over on his cabbage stand.

"AH!" a night watchguard screamed as his horse suddenly fell face first, "What… The…" he murmured before he went silent.

Lex saw that more and more people around them fell to the ground.  
"What is going-" he heard a thud.

The Paladins turned to see Moji had fallen to the ground.

"Mo…." Lian murmured and she fell to her knees.

"Not again!" Sarah gasped, then yawned.

The Paladins fell asleep one by one.  
But not only them…

Throughout the town a silent breeze was the only sound that was heard.

* * *

 **Hello Everyone, is SuperMastour here. I thank you for reading this story and for the feedback! I hope you can also check out a story completely related to this called _Furia's Peculiar Journey: Dragon Blood_ coming real soon! It should be up today!**

 **Thank you so much for everything, my readers!**


	28. THE CHILD OF NIGHTMARES II

**Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 28**

 **THE CHILD OF NIGHTMARES, SERICA  
PART II**

* * *

Serica snarled as she made slowly made her way towards the stairs, her injuries making her take many minutes to do such an arduous task.  
"You better be waiting outside to kill them all, brother…" she murmured to herself and stopped, "Stupid rats!" she looked at her exposed, bleeding wrist.

The woman ripped off a piece of her tunic and quickly tied it as a temporary bandage to stop the bleeding.

"Stupid me! I probably put him to sleep too!" Serica told herself, "And my sister too… Ah well at least I'll get all the glory in killing those animals myself!" she murmured and limped down the stairs. Partway down she called out her stand to help her continue descending.  
"I swear I will tear them all to bits… I will watch them suffer one by one and wait for them to cry out my name as they writhe in pain."

The woman stumbled on the last step but recovered, then made her way towards the hall.

"No guns, but I don't need them." She murmured and picked up one of the axes from the suits of armor strewn about.  
"I will watch their blood run out of them… then find joy as they cast it all out from their diced bodies!" she gave out a shriek as her eyes turned a sickly purple.

Nearby, a small surviving group of zombies clambered out of their coffins and walked to the source of the shriek, eventually meeting up with Serica in the hall.

"Follow me, and we shall have whatever we desire…" Serica whispered to one of them as she held his chin, then decapitated him with the axe.

The other zombies were unaffected by the event and mindlessly followed their leader's daughter without hesitation.

"There they are…" Serica mumbled as she saw the bodies of the Paladins fast asleep outside the door, "In mother's garden too… Perhaps they can join the others planted under it." She said and picked up her step.

The zombies could hardly contain themselves and some even tried to run ahead of Serica, only meet their untimely second death at the hands of her axe.

"Calm yourselves!" the woman yelled at her allies and gave a devious grin when she stopped at the foot of the door.  
"Oh which one to go first…" she looked at The Paladins while putting her wrist on her cheek.

Her eyes darted over to Moji's body.

"If I remember correctly, the princess must be in that body- Wait, what am I thinking." She shook her head, "I should kill auntie first, since she is the biggest threat seeing she can use that fire energy or whatever you call it." She talked to her stand.

She walked over to Zhin's body.

"Even though you're in a foreign body, if it dies, your soul perishes with it." Serica spoke as she raised her axe.  
"So long, sweet auntie…" she cooed and brought it down to the neck.

SHROOOO!  
The axe was immediately repulsed by a surge of Pyre Energy and overcome as it channeled through.

Serica's eyes widened as the energy was set on running down the handle and into her body, and fearing more injury she threw the axe at a zombie.

"RAH!" that zombie screamed as she disintegrated into burning ash.

"That-" Serica screeched as she saw Pyre Energy course through Zhin's body, "She must have built some up before I put her to sleep! Her breathing must have helped maintain it! Enough of this game! I'll sap it right out of you!"  
She grabbed a nearby zombie by the back of the head and rammed it into Sarah's chest.

"URAHHHH!" the zombie roared as Pyre Energy ran through its body and turned it to ash.

"How much did you save!?" Serica growled and then remembered something her mother told her.  
"Wait a minute…" she smirked and unbandaged her wound, "Ah ha!" she quickly swiped her wrist over the Pyre filled body.

The Pyre energy that did channel through was only enough to heal her injury.

"Thank heaven that's out of the way…" Serica chuckled and went to pick up her axe, which was stuck on a nearby tree.  
"For the rest of you!" she told the zombies, "You can destroy the others!"

The zombies could hardly contain themselves.

"It has been 15 minutes since I put this whole forsaken town to sleep." Serica spoke to herself and yanked out her axe from the trunk of the tree, "Perhaps I have been too light on these animals."

The zombies pounced on their victims and started to scratch their bodies.

"Hey! No fun without me!" Serica yelled, ran, and cut the zombie that was attacking Moji's body in two. "You savages! Have you no class?" she told them and then turned back to Sarah.  
"Now, I doubt you have anymore Pyre left to defend you, so we can start the fun!" she cackled and brought down her axe.

Zhin's right hand came clean off.

"Oh… Everyone Dies In Their Nightmares, wake her up." She told her stand, "But before I do." She slammed down on Zhin's chest with the broad end of the axe.

The stand giggled and snapped her fingers.

"AYYYYYYY!" Sarah woke up with a hideous scream as the pain got to her, "Ha… Ha… Ha…. Ha…" she started to pant and wheeze as she took in her surroundings.

"My my… Auntie…" Serica smiled and caressed her chin, "Looks like it's time for you to die... alongside all your friends."

Sarah turned to see that the zombies were attacking her friends.

"No… No… Lian…" Sarah murmured.

"And I'm going to wake them all up so you can hear them scream." Serica laughed and her stand snapped her fingers again.

Immediately all the Paladins woke up and started yelling.

"Oh how beautiful…" Serica moaned, "And the most beautiful part is my stand put everyone in this town to sleep, so no matter what you do, no one can hear you scream…" she licked her lips.

"You… Monster…." Sarah groaned, "I… can't…"

"I broke your body's ribs so you cannot breathe as effectively." Serica told her, "I don't want that pesky Pyre to harm me again."

"Sarah! Get these things off me!" Lian yelled.

"I can't concentrate!" Zhin groaned, "I'm trying to take out my stand!"

"Mr. Zhin!" Moji cried out.

"Lian…" Sarah wept as she heard the woman's cries of help.

"Don't you just love it?" Serica chuckled and looked at her axe, "Oh look, a bit of your body's blood." She looked at the red liquid on it.

Sarah was repulsed when the enemy licked it.  
"You're disgusting…. Just… like… her…"

"I would do all I can to be like dear old mother…" Serica mumbled, "Now, Auntie, it's time to finish this!" she laughed and raised her axe.

"OH MY PYRE!" Sarah screamed, "LIAN I'M SORRY!"

"YES THAT'S IT!" Serica cried out, "NOW DIE, AUNT SARAH!"

KAPOW!  
KAPOW!  
KAPOW!  
KAPOW!  
KAPOW!

The zombies surrounding the Paladins were knocked into the air and destroyed by an unseen force.

"What the!?" Serica stopped her attack when she saw a hulking red figure standing before them.

"L-Li… an…" Sarah panted as she saw a familiar stand.

Power Khan.

"Sarah… I can't… let you die…" Lian growled as Moji's body stood up.

"Impossible! Everyone Dies in Their Nightmare!" Serica called out her stand.  
But too late.

Power Khan grabbed the enemy stand by the neck faster than it could activate its ability.

"My stand is the Fastest in The World!" Lian responded, "Now taste this, you bitch!"

"RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH!" Power Khan raised its fist then immediately released an absolute fury of punches at Everyone Dies in Their Nightmare's head.  
"RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH!"

Serica screamed as that same damage translated unto her own head, bringing out blood and teeth from her body.

"And this is for Sarah!" Lian yelled and gave one final punch with Power Khan before it disappeared.

"UWAAAAH!" Serica cried out as she was sent crashing into a tree.

Her stand disappeared, then a soft breeze came across the land.

The Paladins suddenly felt a jerking force that tugged at their very souls, then blacked out as the very thing happened. White spheres came out of their bodies and settled back into their original hosts.

Slowly, all the people around the fortress started to wake up again, the people on the next block over, then on the next street, then the next.

Eventually all the people and animals of the town woke up from their slumber.

The Paladins as well, relieved to be back in their original bodies.

"Finally…" Lian sighed as she felt her arms.

"Is it over, Ms. Sarah?" Moji asked.

"I think so…" Sarah mumbled as she looked at her scratched thighs, "Furious Flame!" she called out her stand, and so it came out.

"Power Khan!" Lian did the same.

"The Law!"

"Notorious Po I. Li!"

"Agh…" Zhin gave out a sickly groan as he held his detached right hand in his left hand.

"Oh my! Zhin!" Sarah ran to his aid, as did all his allies, "Furious Flame!" she directed her stand to pick up the hand and then bring out a surge of Pyre energy.

"It burns!" Zhin gnashed his teeth.

"I have to use a lot of Pyre energy to do this, I'm sorry…" Sarah said as she focused on the job at hand, "This isn't your simple fix of cuts."

Zhin groaned as he felt a burning sensation race though his body.

"Final Pyre!" Sarah called out and stretched out her hand, "Haaaaaa!" she took a deep breath and placed it on his chest, causing more Pyre Energy to surround him.  
"Furious Flame, take care of the others!" she directed her stand to start healing her allies.

"Thank you, healer." Lex said as all the cuts and gashes on his body where gone.

Zhin gave out one last exhale and opened his eyes to see his hand was back on his body, "A miracle…" he said to himself.

"Just hit the ground to get rid of the excess Pyre." Sarah informed him and breathed in deeply, then started to heal herself.

"HAH!" Zhin karate chopped the ground and watched as some Pyre energy came out of his hand, "Now this is what I call great." He stood up and was filled with new life.

"Thank you, Ms. Sarah!" Moji squeaked, "I feel all warm and happy now!"

"I'm glad to hear that, Moji." Sarah gave a smile, but it was a sickly smile.  
A weak and an exhausted smile. One that soon gave way to a deep huff of air and a collapse.

"Sarah!" Lian yelled as she clambered to her aid, "Sarah!" she shook her.

Sarah was on the verge of passing out, but recovered and took in some deep breaths, "This old body… Took a big toll just now…" she chuckled and sat up with the help of Lian.

"Are you ok, Sarah?" Lex as he placed his fingers on her neck, "Your pulse is rather slow…." He told her.

"I'll be fine. Just need a breather." Sarah responded, "Maybe even a little sleep." She smiled.

"She's well, alright." Zhin rolled his eyes and chuckled, "There's nothing more like Sarah that always joking around."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Lian asked as she helped Sarah stand up, "Listen, I don't want you falling apart in the face of these new freaks."

"Thank you… Lian." Sarah said and hugged her, "But rest assured I will never let them get to you."

"Uh…." Lex saw the unusual closeness between the two and turned to Zhin.

"Niiiiiiiice." Zhin grinned and turned to see Lex looking at him, "I mean…" he cleared his throat, "How touching, yes, very emotional." He dusted off his tunic.

"My thanks." Lian nodded and looked at Sarah, then saw she was crying, "Is there something wrong?"

"N-N-Nothing." Sarah stammered, "It's just… been a while since I've really appreciated you… and all of you." She turned to her allies, "For joining me on this mission. I know you all have risked your lives for my problems, and you may not get much out of it… yet here you all are."

"We're too invested into this to give up now." Lian responded, "At this point I'm just dying to cave Seris' face in with Power Khan."

"I've said this once and I've said it again, I will not stop until Seris is brought under the strong arm of the Law." Lex added, "There is no way I will let her go after all the crime and evil she's done."

Sarah smiled.  
"Thank you everyone. Well then, we should get going." She pointed to the fortress, "We saw where the carriage containing Seris was, perhaps if we go around, we can see that giant portico and patio were." She pointed to the avenues that went around the fortress.

"It think we have enough mettle in ourselves to investigate." Lex told her, "I believe everyone's had a good rest." He chuckled.

"Haha…" Lian rolled her eyes, "Regardless, didn't that miserable Serica say she had siblings?"

"You're right!" Moji interrupted, "That means we should be really careful, right Ms. Sarah?" she asked.

"Absolutely." Sarah gave her a thumbs up.

"What will we do with her?" Zhin pointed to Serica, who was slumped over by the tree she struck completely motionless.

"Is she still alive?" Lex asked.

Sarah focused and saw that Serica's soul was near colorless, a black void with dark blue patches that vaguely dotted it.  
"She's dying." She informed.

"Not quickly enough." Zhin stepped up and walked towards her, then called out Thousand Hands.

His allies stood behind him as he slowly raised the stand's blade.

"Shall I do it?" the swordsman asked his friends.

"I think we shouldn't." Sarah responded, "The light inside of her is fading fast, there is no way she can even think of activating her stand lest she dies."

"Hmmm?" Lian turned to the woman.

"Stand requires the user's stamina to use, does it not?" Lex told Lian while looking for confirmation from Sarah, "So being that it uses that, using it too much in a weakened state should be impossible without some detriment."

"And sometimes that detriment is death." Sarah added, "Your body will die from exhaustion."

Zhin grunted, then picked up Moji.  
"Don't Look, Moji." He covered her eyes, "ZYAH!"

Lian stepped back when Serica's only remaining hand came clean off.

"I should at least repay her back for what she did to me." Zhin commented and looked at Lex, "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, no?" he smirked and set Moji down.

Lex shook his head.  
"I don't disagree." He shrugged his shoulders, "I guess we should continue onwards." he led the group across the garden and towards the side of the fortress.

"Let us know if you smell a foreign person, Moji." Zhin told the leipori as they walked.

"Will do, Mr. Zhin!" Moji clenched her fists and stayed alert.

The Paladins walked down a winding sandstone path that led through the continuation of beautiful garden in the front courtyard. The walls of the exterior walls were to their left while the walls of the fortress proper were to their right. Thankfully for them, they reflected enough of the full moon's light to give them ample visibility on their trip.  
That and Seris had apparently placed crystal lanterns to dangle from the fruit trees that hugged the path.

"Is everyone feeling alright?" Lex asked them, "Sarah?"

"I'm feeling much better now that I stopped using the Pyre to heal everyone." Sarah responded, "As I said, all I need to was cool off for a bit." She smiled.

"Glad to hear that." Lian told her.

"Say, Lian." Zhin piped up, "What occurred that Power Khan came out with such life and force?" he asked her, "I was struggling to even bring up Thousand Hands against those dead guys."

Lian pondered for a moment.  
"I actually don't know… I just felt, threatened… I felt like we all were." She answered, "Like… we were all going to die, especially Sarah. When I saw her about to have her head lobbed off, something inside my soul just stirred."

Sarah looked down and gave a small grin.  
"It…" she interrupted, "Must be your stand's nature." She informed.

"Huh?" Lian turned to face her.

"You are a princess, a ruler of a kingdom." Sarah looked back up, "It's in your nature to care for others, regardless of how high and mighty you present yourself to be. If you didn't, Aico would be in ruins and your people would suffer. From the very first day I met you I saw that your concern was not for my mission, but for Aico. That's why I had to tell you that Seris was going to take over your lands, it was the only way you would join me. Perhaps that wish for preservation is reflected from your soul into your stand… perhaps your stand seeks to preserve you in kind."

Lian went silent.

"It's a rare trait to have in a stand." Sarah continued, "Primarily they act on what their user tells them to do and only that. It won't seek to protect its user unless specifically directed by them. Your stand may seek to protect you regardless if you will it or not."

"Crazy." Zhin commented.

"I thank you for your words." Lian spoke, "But I wasn't acting over my own safety, but for yours." She told Sarah, "As I said, I felt a strong impulse in my soul seeing you being thrown about and hacked like that."

"I wouldn't doubt you felt that." Sarah mumbled, "Regardless, it is all of us who must thank you for saving us from Serica's wrath."

"Thank you, Lian." Zhin said.  
"Thank you, Ms. Lian!" Moji squeaked.

Lex turned and stopped, then embraced Lian with open arms.

"Thank you very much, Princess." He said and held her tight.

Lian blushed and hugged him back.  
"You're welcome, Lawman…" she responded.

Sarah gave a warm smile as she saw the two embrace.

"Alright lovers." Zhin crossed his arms.

Lex and Lian separated and chuckled.

"You should have invited Yamina if you were going to be so jealous." Lex joked and looked at the swordsman, who chuckled in return.

"Ha ha." Zhin responded, "Nice joke, pal."

"He's right, Zhin." Lian said and patted his back, "You wouldn't be such a grumpy pumpy wumpy lumpy if you weren't such a lonely wonely." She teased him.

"I think Ms. Yamina really liked you, Mr. Zhin." Moji hopped in his arms, "Why didn't you invite her?"

"This is adult stuff, Moji, do you really think you should be butting in?" Zhin told her, "Let the grownups talk and beat each other up." He glared at Lian.  
"Also, on that whole bit with the fastest stand in the world-"

"Enough everyone." Sarah chuckled, "We need to get ready just in case another one of the horror brothers comes to stop us from getting to Seris." She said and continued walking.

"You're right." Lex said and took the lead again.

They walked for 5 minutes before they reached the end of the trail, which in turn led to the back courtyard and the extravagant portico.

The courtyard was filled with bare sand and had some broken down stables to the left of it and a small corral for horses and other animals to the right.

"Horse dung." Lex pointed to the middle of the sand area and saw brown mounds of manure, "Someone surely had animals here, and recently."

Zhin looked at the back of the fortress.  
"That must be the window we saw the events from." He pointed to an open window in the middle of the fortress, but when he turned he saw that Lex was already in the middle of the courtyard investigating the sand.

His allies walked up to catch up to him but he stopped them with a raise of his hand.

"Stop!" he alerted them, then pointed to the sand.

There were straight indents that ran across all the way to the massive gates that lay at the end.

"Carriage tracks." Sarah observed.

"Not only that…" Lex murmured as he saw hoofprints scattering all about, "Take a look at these tracks." He pointed them out, "These are not going away from the fortress like the ones by the tracks, but are scattering all about and even heading towards it." He pointed to the portico that allowed entry to the massive building.

"These must be Serica and her siblings." Lian said.

"This is all we need." Lex told her, "If we look at these, we can tell there are three horses." He knelt by the hoofprints.

"How can you tell that?" Lian asked.

"All of the hoofprints have varying depths in the sand, indicating three horses."

"And possibly three riders." Zhin hypothesized, "Which is why Serica would claim Siblings… But wherever they are."

"They may still be inside-" Sarah stopped when one of the stable doors burst open with a violent crash and two riders with three horses came storming out.

"Watch out watch out!" Zhin yelled as the horses came straight towards them, forcing him and his friends to jump out of the way as they did so.

"That must be them!" Lian lifted herself up and called out Power Khan, but then noticed as shocking sight.

"Do not interrupt me!" a familiar scream sounded.  
Serica was fumbling down the trail pointing at them with her right arm, "I will kill them all!" she screamed, but stumbled and fell on the sand.

One of the riders jumped off their horse and landed nearby.  
"Enough of this." The voice, male, responded and its source walked over to Serica.

"Silence, Sereno! I will have my revenge!" Serica screamed as she tried to stand up, "Look! They took off my hands!"

"You have no ability to fight, sister." The rider on the horse, a female, answered, "Leave with me and we can fight them some other time."

"I won't!" Serica yelled, "Not whe-"

"There is no argument." The male rider grabbed hold of her, "It is my duty to protect both of you for father's and mother's sake. You will not fight in your state, dear sister. It is not safe! You will leave now!" he picked her up.

"No no! I want to- no I need to kill them!" Serica continued screaming as she fought being put on a horse.

"You must ride out with her and get her to mother and father safely." The male rider told the female.

"And what will become of you, brother?" the female rider asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

"Nothing, these men will not touch me. I will leave as happy and healthy as I am now with them dragged behind my horse." The male rider responded, "Now listen, you will take Serica home to be safe, and I will bring them to you and mother and father."

The female rider nodded and grabbed hold of the reins of Serica's horse.

"Hold on there!" Lex pointed at the female rider as she started to take off, "You can-"

"Your fight is with me!" the male rider spoke as he removed his black cloak, "Not with them!"

The Paladins turned to face the newcomer.

"Brother! Turn them to bits!" Serica screamed as she was taken away.

"Good luck, brother!" the female rider added as she led the two out of the courtyard.

The male rider nodded and fixed his leather belt, then hopped on his horse but stayed put.

"Running away?" Zhin asked as their new opponent shuffled in his saddle.

The rider did not respond, but only pointed at them.  
"You will not win, for the pride and honor of my family!" he exclaimed.


	29. THE CHILD OF HIGH PRAISE

**Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 29**

 **THE CHILD OF HIGH PRAISE, SERENO**

* * *

The rider dismounted his horse after grabbing another belt from his saddle and dusted off his clothes.  
He took a spit on the ground and stepped into the light of a nearby crystal lamp, revealing his true form.

He was a man around the height a Zhin. He had dark black hair, a charcoal black that blended in with the night sky. It was wavy at the front with its bangs, but the bangs were split in two and only reached to his thick angled eyebrows as they were raised a few centimeters from his hairline. His eyes were a steely grayish green that lacked luster but still showed a dignified standing above his firm cheeks and beside stiff nose.

He had a chestplate with rows of purple crystals along the base where it ended above his diaphragm. He was wearing a chainmail shirt underneath that covered a part of his purple long-sleeve tunic.

His pants where stiff and covered with thick leather chaps which in turn covered armored boots.

"Before you all die, I will introduce myself." The man bowed, but unlike his sister, this was a bow of respect.  
"My name is Sereno, the first born of Seris." He put his hand to his chest and looked up to the heavens, "I have been sent by my beloved father and mother to rid of the stain that threatens the great tapestry that is the destiny of our glorious family. I will give it my all to get rid by the threat posed by you, my dear Aunt." He pointed at Sarah.

"What a gentleman you are." Sarah responded as she stepped up towards the man, "Perhaps I can reason with you, unlike your demented sister."

"There will be no reasoning with traitors." Sereno responded as he swiped his arm across his body, "Mother offered you a place in destiny, yet you rejected her offer."

"Did she ever tell you what she did to get that response?" Sarah growled, "Did she ever tell you that once she reached her so-called destiny, she used it to kill the only man I've ever loved?"

"I was told quite differently." Sereno shook his head, "I do not suffer usurpers. My mother had been real kind and had much longsuffering with you, Aunt Sarah."

"Your mother was the one who usurped my love!" Sarah yelled, "She was the one who sacrificed it all to destroy what was pure between us! This all out spite! Out of hate! Out of… envy…" she seethed as dark memories came before her.

 _There she was, in the rain atop a ruined mountain.  
In her arms was a young man. Handsome, glowing, radiant- but dying.  
He had long white hair and glowing eyes. He seemed to have something like the Pyre causing a glow in his body, but this glow was a light blue that was fading.  
Sarah could only look and weep as the man slowly died in her arms. This weeping and sorrow was interrupted when she looked at the huge opening in his chest, all corrupted by abyssal energy._

 _And on the top of a rock on the ruined mountain was her…._

"I will never forgive her!" Sarah yelled as she held back tears, "She took everything from me!" she clenched her fists, "A-A-A-Almost everything…." She mumbled and looked at her belly.

"If it is battle you want with her, then you have made an enemy with us!" Zhin stepped up and called out Thousand Hands.

"Damn right!" Lian did the same and called out Power Khan, "Sarah, let us take care of this stupid blowhard. Listen here, Sereno. Since you're acting like a prince, I think you need a princess to bring you back down to earth."

"I will be a prince." Sereno responded, "Once my mother takes control of this world and its destiny."

"Your only destiny will be beaten to a bloody pulp." Lian grunted, "Now come on and show your stand so we can go ahead and finish off your two sisters quicker."

"Impotent fool." Sereno smirked and pulled out a book he had dangling from chains on his belt.  
As if there was no threat to him, he started reading it under the light of the lamp.

"This arrogant bastard!" Zhin growled, "What are you doing-"

Sereno loudly cleared his throat as he flipped a page.  
He started to glow, which intrigued his enemies.

"This must be his stand." Lex mumbled as he saw a figure start to form, but just when it was going to be identifiable, it disappeared.

The man kept reading his book.

"Do we just attack him?" Lian asked Sarah.

"Wait for him." Sarah answered and raised her hand, "Perhaps we can avoid this confrontation…" she said and pointed to a spare wagon by the corral.

"But there are no horses." Lex told her.

"I have it understood we need no horses." Sarah looked at Moji, "With Moji's stand we can produce some locomotion. Perhaps rolling stones?"

"I think I can do that." Moji nodded.

"So you're saying we should retreat?" Zhin asked, "What if the other two are waiting for us outside of the walls? We can't face off against three stand users, considering Serica's puts us to sleep."

"I doubt they're there." Sarah said, "And wouldn't you want to avoid a fight if you could?"

"Let's do it. He seems distracted." Lex said and they all started to creep away.

Once they were a sufficient distance away, they started to jog towards the wagon.

Sereno seemed oblivious to the events that occurred, only reading his book.

"This seems too simple…" Lian grumbled as they neared the wagon, "It's like he doesn't want to fight us… Or maybe we're falling into a trap…"

"It's best to take our chances." Sarah picked up Moji to pick up their pace, "Look, we're almost there."

Sereno flipped his page.

"Quick, everyone!" Lex said as he jumped on the driver's bench, "Get on!"

Sereno flipped another page.

Just as the Moji, first passenger, was about to hop on, they all stopped in their tracks.  
Not because they froze.  
But because they just didn't move.

Lian, Zhin, and Sarah were moving their legs and bodies in their running, but they weren't moving.  
They were quite literally stuck in place.

"What the?" Lex looked and saw that their feet were not impacting the sand, as there were no further imprints or kicked up dust coming out of their steps.

"What's going on?" Sarah asked, "Moji! Get on!" she urged her friend to hop.

"Ok!" Moji said and jumped off her arms, only to stop midair just a few centimeters from her arms, "Huh?"

"Moji, what's wrong!?" Zhin asked as Moji struggled in the air.

"I can't move!" Moji wiggled about, but she did not budge an inch.

Lex stepped off the wagon, only to suffer the same fate as Moji.  
"It seems we are stuck!" he growled as he kicked and moved his arms.

"Nice observation, detective!" Lian angrily spoke, "The reason is why can't we move?"

"Perhaps its our friend bac- WOAH!" Zhin was interrupted when an unseen force suddenly yanked them back towards Sereno.

The Paladins tumbled down the sand as if they were falling off a hill even though it was flat ground, only to stop when they were around 10 meters away from their enemy.

Sereno finally stopped reading his book and watched as his enemies stood up and dusted themselves off.

"You!" Lian pointed at him.

Sereno raised his hand and pointed at his book.  
"Let me ask you this." He spoke and looked intently at his pages.

" _Do you believe in Gravity?"_

The Paladins looked at him as if he had grown a third eye, all except for one.  
Sarah.

"Gravity?" Zhin scoffed, "Of course not, I don't give two damns what a bunch of looneys in an Academy think of."

"An inferior intellect I see." Sereno shook his head and closed his book, "Would anyone care to give me a better answer?"

"Gravity is what apparently keeps us on this planet." Lian informed Zhin, "My tutors told me about it. It's apparently something we cannot see, yet it brings us down."

"Incorrect again." Sereno answered.

"Huh?"

"You're wrong, Lian." Sarah interrupted, "I believe in gravity."

Sereno's interest piqued.

"All things are destined to come together, there is a supernatural pull on everything in creation that brings us together." She started to speak, "Just like the supposed pull that brings us close to the bosom of this world, so is the pull that brings all of us together into the Grand Scheme. These forces which only the gods have control over all guide us to a greater destiny, one that we only merely travel past."

"I see you have truly seen the world of my mother." Sereno nodded.

"It wasn't your mother who said that, Sereno." Sarah coldly responded, "It was the one she took from me. I remember he told it to her… I've never seen her so mesmerized, so… happy."

The man scoffed.

"Regardless, you will believe the reality that is Gravity." He stepped up and started to glow again.

"You better show your stand this time." Lian growled.

Sereno smirked and then spat, but before the spittle hit the ground, it stopped around knee level and blobbed up.

"What the?" Zhin looked in shock as the blob of saliva slowly started to hover up, "What is going on?"

"Gravity." Sereno spoke and the spittle fell back on the Earth, "This time in the literal sense that the princess spoke of, but now I will introduce you to the true sense my mother revealed to this world!" he raised his arms.

From this action his stand came out.

It had the appearance of an armored knight, but its armor was rounded and sleek and seemed to hug the form of the stand. It had two glowing yellow eyes visible from a dark opening in the iron helmet it wore, and the steel of the armor had sapphire bands coming down its chestplate. It wore a thick black belt like object across its waist that separated its body in two. Out of its elbows came out two emerald spheres that encased the area. Its fingers had sapphire knuckles at their bases and were metallically segmented. The main chestplate had engravings of clouds on it in a silvery-gold color that decorated it.

"My stand is called….

BAD!"  
Sereno proclaimed as he started took a prideful stance.

"Very well, then let's have a stand off!" Lian clenched her fists, "Power Khan!" she pointed at him.

Sereno gasped at how quickly the enemy stand appeared and narrowly avoided having his stand being punched.  
"This is it! BAD!"

Lian suddenly felt a tug on her body.

"Woah!" Lex tripped as he slid on the ground, "What the!?"

"The Power of my stand BAD! is the revelation that is Gravity!" Sereno said as he saw all his enemies slide on the ground.

"It feels like I'm falling off the face of the world!" Zhin yelled, "Thousand Hands!" he called out his stand, who stabbed its sword into the ground and caught its owner with its free hand, stopping him from sliding.

Sarah saw this, "Furious Flame! Pyre Bind!" she ordered her stand to grab hold of a nearby post and wrap a fiery cord around it.

"The LAW!" Lex said and grabbed Lian, "Retrieve!" he ordered his stand to shoot the same post that held Sarah and suspend him.

"WAHHH!" Moji screamed, "PO LI!" she called her stand out, which formed a small tree that caught her in its branches.

"We're all safe…." Sarah muttered, then saw Sereno walk towards them.

However, from their perspective it appeared like Sereno was walking down a large wall.

"Woah…." Zhin looked down and saw the town underneath his feet, "What's this that's going on? Huh!?" he gasped when Thousand Hand's sword slipped out of the ground.  
"AHHHH!" he fell.

"Mr. Zhin!" Moji called out, then made her stand extend its branches and catch her friend, "Are you ok?" she asked him.

"Fine, thanks to you." Zhin nodded and dusted off his clothes, then looked up.  
His eyes widened in shock.  
"WATCH OUT!" He yelled to his allies dangling from the post.

The carriage they sought to escape with was tumbling towards them.

"Furious Flame!" Sarah yelled and called out her stand after taking control of the Pyre Bind, "Incinerate!"

The angelic stand came out and struck a pose as it extended its wings, then blew out a stream of fire from its mouth.

This fire started to consume the carriage, but parts of it still threatened to strike them.

"Power Khan!" Lian snarled and called out her stand, who grabbed the burning parts its massive hands, "A little present for you!" she glared at Sereno.

Power Khan roared as it threw a burning wheel and wall at the man like a frisbee.

"Hrrrr…" Sereno growled, then called out his stand. BAD! Punched the two burning wooden pieces and shattered them to splinters.  
"I do not wish to burn…" he said and made the burning splinters start to hover upwards towards the night sky.

"Tell me more about this… Gravity…" Lex spoke as Lian made Power Khan grab more pieces of the burning wagon, "How does it work? It seems like only the gods should have this power." He started to falter in his efforts to keep them up.

"My tutors and court scholars claim that there is an invisible force that brings us down to the planet." Lian informed, "It's supposed to keep the moon in place and the sun in the sky. In fact, they claim it reaches anywhere, even to the stars. I never found it interesting, science was never my favorite subject to study… I mostly preferred history."

"Sounds like a load of posh." Lex groaned as he started to lose control of The Law's Retrieve.

"It could just help us in this fight." Sarah responded.

"I ho- AYYYYYYYYY!" Lian screamed as she and Lex suddenly fell.

"OOOF!" Lex grunted and caught Lian in his arms.

Power Khan stopped its assault when it was forcibly recalled due to the distance between it and its user, though The Law stayed in place.

"Now I have you!" Sereno laughed and walked towards Sarah, "Take this, BAD!" he called out his stand.

"Furious Flame!" Sarah called away the Pyre Bind and caught the legs of her stand as it started to fly into the sky, something that to her felt like flying backwards.

"No escape!" Sereno said and started to float upwards to catch up to her.

"So this is the power of Gravity…." Sarah murmured, "No matter, Furious Flame! Pyre Strike!"  
Her stand extended its arms and sent out a stream of scalding fire.

BAD! pointed at the stream, and the flaming hot fire suddenly started to flow back towards its user.

"What the!?" Sarah said as she and her stand were covered in what appeared to be a bubble of fire, "My fire! How could it- I can't call it away!" her lips started to dry up.

"What will we do…." Moji said as she looked at Sarah while Zhin attended Lex and Lian, "Mr. Zhin, Ms. Sarah is going to be cooked!"

"Not if we can help it, Moji." Zhin said and looked at her, "How far can you extend this tree?"

"About… that far!" the leipori pointed to a spot around 10 meters away from them.

"That's all I need." Zhin said, "Lift me up!"

Moji nodded and made Po Li bring out a huge offshoot that carried Zhin upwards.

Sereno noticed this action and grunted.  
"Simpleton, do you really think you can sneak past me?"

"Yes! I can!" Zhin jumped from the branch, only to stop midair, "That won't stop my fighting spirit!" he called out Thousand Hands.

Sereno gasped as the swordsman stand came out as quickly as Power Khan, and with that same swiftness started his assault. Against this new opponent he had little opportunity to activate his ability, because unlike Power Khan, this stand had something for range- namely its sword.  
"Damn it!" he yelled as his BAD! was cut across its left flank.

"Not even Power Khan is as fast my Thousand Hands!" Zhin smirked and gave a quick glance back at his friends, "Behold!" he directed his stand to turn to Sarah and made it cut the fire surrounding her to pieces.  
"My sword is red hot! I'll shove it up your stupid gravity hole!"

"BAD! Show them the truth!" Sereno called out, and his stand brought out his fists.

Gravity returned to Zhin and made him fall down towards his friends.  
"You won't get away that easily!" he yelled as he fell.

Thousand Hands suddenly nicked BAD! on the left cheek, causing a spurt of blood to come out of Sereno's left cheek.

"Zhin!" Sarah yelled as Zhin fell out of the range of Moji's tree.

Zhin grunted and brought his stand back towards him.  
"I'm going to hit that wall!" he yelled as he saw the exterior walls of the fortress closing in.

"Lian!" Lex yelled when the princess suddenly jumped off the safety of the tree.

Zhin saw this action and grunted.  
"Damn it, Lian! What are you doing!?" he yelled at her.

"I'm going to save your skin!" Lian responded as she grabbed his arm and looked at the incoming wall, "POWER KHAN!"

"RAH!" Power Khan came out fists blazing and punched the large stones, shattering them on impact.  
"RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH!" it continued its barrage until it made a hole clean through.

"Down we go!" Zhin spun Lian around in order to shield her with his body as they went through a cloud of dust and debris.

"Lian!" Sarah cried out, then turned to Sereno, "You bastard!" she said, "CROSSPYRE HURRICANE BURST!"  
Furious Flame crossed its arms and cast out 4 small sigils made of fire.

Sereno snarled as he saw the events unfold, "BAD! take these things out!"  
BAD! Pumped out its chest and made the sigils turn into balls of fire and rendered them immobile.

"Hmmmm…." Sarah smiled.

"What are you laughing about?" Sereno murmured, then felt he started to sweat, "What is this heat?" he looked around and saw that Furious Flame was radiating heat from its wings.  
"Is that-"

"Haha!" Sarah made Furious Flame swoop down and grab some of the horse manure on the sand, "Take this!" her stand threw it at the balls of fire as it pushed its owner back.

The manure caused miniature explosions that knocked Sereno backwards and allowed Sarah a chance to regroup with her allies.

The explosion momentarily stunned Sereno, causing the gravity to shift back to normal.

"Oof!" Lex and Sarah grunted when they hit the floor, Sarah catching Moji in her arms soon after.

"Ahhh!" the falling Zhin and Lian impact the ground before they hit a house.

Lian was over Zhin's chest and was holding him in an embrace.

"My, what would Lex think of this?" the swordsman commented cheekily as he helped her up.

"Shut up." Lian grunted and dusted off her dress, "Say, the gravity is back to normal."

Surely enough, the surroundings and their perspective were now leveled with the horizon. This event allowed them to reconnect with their friends, who had retreated towards their position.

"We're hoping this stand has a range limit." Lex ran up to them, "Quick, we require quicker transportation."

The Paladins looked around but saw no animals to ride upon. Since it was around midnight from what they could tell, the town around them was mostly barren and devoid of life save for a stray cat or dog popping in from an alley.

"He's getting back up, Ms. Sarah." Moji alerted as she shuffled in Sarah's arms and pointed back into the Fortress' courtyard.

Surely enough, Sereno had gathered his bearings and was now focused on them.

"Damn it! He's taking out his stand!" Zhin snarled, "Gods, I wis-"

He was interrupted by the neighing for horses.  
The clamber of a wagon.

"What the…" Lian stepped back when an armored stagecoach came into view as it turned down the road, coming from its hiding place behind the castle walls.

"Enforcers…" Lex saw the sigil on the front of the carriage, but then saw that it was not an enforcer commanding the robust vehicle.

The wagon came to a halt, all the mighty horses that pulled it snorted powerfully as they lumbered to a stop.

The drive that broke these horses was not an alien face to them.

"S-S-S-Sha Lin?" The Paladins gasped in shock as the Eastern young man stood proudly on the seat.

"Come with me if you want to live."  
he spoke and extended his hand.


	30. THE CHILD OF HIGH PRAISE II

**Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 30**

 **THE CHILD OF HIGH PRAISE, SERENO  
PART II**

* * *

"How did you find us?" Sarah asked as she quickly jumped aboard the craft, "I thought you had gone your own way!"

"Men going their own way isn't really that popular where I come from, darling." Sha Lin smirked as he saw Sereno start to mount his horse.  
"I'm assuming that's the bad guy."

"He sure is." Lex grumbled and called out the Law, then fired upon his enemy.

Sereno's horse was startled and knocked its rider off.

"Quick, take off while we have the time!" Zhin instructed Sha Lin, "Oh give me this!" he growled and took command of the reins himself.

The horses neighed as the strong whip urged them to start moving.

"Hold on their partner!" Sha Lin growled, "At least let me know the deets!" he shuffled in between Zhin and Lian, "What's the bogey we're fighting?"

"First you tell us how you found us." Lian shoved him when she noticed he was getting a little too touchy during his shuffling.

"It's hard to miss the big sleep and all the fire around a large building." Sha Lin responded, "Plus, I thought I'd at least share in some of the glory taking that bad bitch down. She does owe me quite a penny." He looked at his nails.

"Of course that would be your reason." Lian scoffed, "Lex, what's the status on the bad guy?"

"We have a Code November Oscar Golf Oscar Five Zero." Lex responded, "All units keep clear of the ARV as it makes a transport. ATL man of medium height riding a strawberry roan stallio-" he stopped when he noticed all his friends staring at him.  
"I mean, he still has not left the fortress grounds." He cleared his throat.

"That's more like it." Zhin cleared his ear, "All that pig language sure confused my brain." He smirked and kept his eyes on the road.

"Pigs…" Lex snarled, but focused on more pressing issues.  
"Say, how did you get an ARV from a Constabulary…" he glared at Sha Lin.

Sha Lin felt the iron gaze of Lex pierce into the back of his head and gave a loud gulp.  
"I mean… Uh… Let's just say… Uh…. It was a loan from an old friend of mine, yeah." He chuckled uneasily, "Look, all that matters is that I saved your butts from whatever magical powers that guy has in his fighting spirit!"

"He's right, Lex." Sarah interjected, "What matters now is losing Sereno and making it to Hadea. Hopefully we can take out Seris before her demon children regroup."

"You are sorely mistaken." Lex told them, "If he stole this vehicle, that mean-"

A bright light shone above them.  
Then another.  
Then another.

"What are those things?" Moji murmured.

"They look like-" Lian gasped when the lights revealed something in the sky.

A hot air balloon.

No, two hot air balloons.  
No, three.

Blue and white hot air balloons with the majestic logo of the Outer Tribunal on them.  
From the basket of one of the balloons were three enforcers looking down at the streets below them. One of the enforcers, a blond woman, looked at the armored wagon through her telescope. After spending a few moments fixated on them, she moved her sights to see Sereno and his horse chasing behind them.  
"All units be advised, we have an ARV on the ground being chased by an unknown white male." She spoke into a magical golden shell, "Subject appears to be armed and dangerous. Currently operating a brownish horse with golden armor."

On the wagon, Lex looked up to see small flares shooting out of the side of one of the balloons.

"Mr. Lex." Moji spoke up and popped out of one of the windows, "I found this strange shell that's speaking to me!" she said and held up a similar golden shell.

Lex turned back and saw the item.  
"Moji! Give me that!" he nearly snatched it from her hands and immediately placed it near his mouth, "All units, this is Sheriff Officer Lex Lawson, Unit number 777." He spoke, "I am currently being pursued by an armed assailant, over."

"Officer Lawson." A woman responded, "Are you currently operating Wagon Number 24?"

Lex tapped Sha Lin on his shoulder and pointed towards the side of the wagon.

"What?" Sha Lin asked, quite confused as to the action.

"What's the number on the side of the wagon?" Lex curtly told him.

The archer took a deep breath and hung over the edge of the wagon in order to see the sides of it.  
"Uh… It's a 4…" he squinted, but then saw a most terrifying sight.

Sereno raised his rifle and fired.

"Yikes!" Sha Lin retracted his head as several bullets screamed past him.

"What's the other number!?" Lex yelled.

"I don't want my head to be blown off!" Sha Lin winced when another bullet richocheted off the metal armor of the wagon.

"Tell me now or I'll throw you into prison for stealing this vehicle!" Lex grabbed the man's red scarfed and choked him.

Sha Lin escaped his grasp and once again popped his out.  
"It's a two! It's a two!" he screamed as more bullets came his way.

"10-4!" Lex spoke into the magic conch shell.

"Officer Lawson, backup is on the way." The woman responded, "All enforcers be aware that suspect is to be considered armed and dangerous."

Lex put the shell in his pocket and turned his attention back to their attacker.  
"The Law!" he called out his stand, "5 Officer Police Shootout!"

Multiple Copies of the Law stood on top of the Wagon and aimed their arm cannons at Sereno.

The son of Seris glared at the enemy stands and made his horse careen to the right in order to avoid the subsequent fire from their cannons.  
"You insolent bastards!" he pulled out his own stand and grabbed a spare bullet from his belt.

BAD! grabbed the bullet from its owner's hand and placed it on its palm, then hovered its other hand over it.  
The bullet started to levitate between the two hands and began to spin and spin and spin. The spinning became so fast that the metal of the bullet started to glow a bright red. Despite the gunpowder igniting, the explosion itself couldn't escape the sheer speed of the spinning energy and clumped together with the now molten metal.

Sereno kept his sights on the carriage despite The Law firing upon him.  
"Despite your distance, you will still see the truth of Gravity!" he yelled and noted that another armored wagon was turning the street.

The enforcers on that wagon immediately pulled out their magnums and long gun and started to fire at the criminal.

"BAD! SHOW THEM THE SPEED OF GRAVITY! THE SPEED OF DESTINY!" Sereno yelled at the top of his lungs and pointed at the other wagon.

BAD!, which now had a glowing ball of mass within its palms, separated its hands.  
The mass of light stopped spinning and shot out in a flash, and within the same second that the flash went off the armored wagon that had join the chase suddenly had its armored panels completely blown off.

The enforcers screamed as shards of metal and wood struck their bodies and retired them from action.

"What the hell was that!?" Lian yelled as she saw the wagon nearly fall over.

Sereno chuckled, pulled out a small pipe of metal and handed it to his stand.

BAD! made the pipe spin in its hands until it became red hot and molten, but still retrained some form of cylindrical shape to due the high spin.

"He seems to be making something in his hands…" Lex used The Law to look back at their attacker, "It seems he is using that mysterious force to la-"

Molten metallic energy suddenly ripped the armor of the left side of their wagon.

"AGHH!" Zhin, Lian, and Sha Lin yelled in shock as the horses suddenly panicked.

"ALL UNIT BE ADVISED! STAY AWAY FROM THE SUBJECT!" Lex pulled out the magic shell and yelled into it.

"All units, subject is armed and dangerous." The woman from before spoke, "Officers Leonard and Pewalski are down! I repeat, Officers down!"

"DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ENGAGE!" Lex yelled again.

From one of the observation balloons, the blonde enforcer looked at the scene below through her telescope.  
"Station, this is Balloon 5, What the hell is happening down there!?" she spoke into her shell, "Should we engage! Ballista is ready!" she looked at the large crossbow that was attended by her fellow officers.

"Balloon 5, do not engage!" the dispatcher responded, "All units! Do not engage!"

"What do you mean do not engage!" the enforcer yelled, "We have a clear shot! He just blew up a wagon!" she peered into her telescope again, "I Have him at 200 meters! This-"  
She saw the most peculiar sight.

Sereno was looking right back at her.

"What the…"  
All the enforcer saw was a flash of light before the top part of her body and her telescope was completely vaporized, leaving only a fine red mist which was only noticed for a few seconds by her fellow officers since the balloon they were on was no better.

"By the gods!" Lian looked up to see one of the balloons erupt in flames and start its plummet back down to earth.

"That's it!" Lex yelled and jumped to the top of the wagon to look at Sereno with his own wrathful eyes.  
"THE LAW! 15 OFFICER POLICE SHOOT OUT!" he yelled and added 10 more copies of The Law to his arsenal.

Sereno took a deep gulp as he saw all the stands aim their cannons towards him.

"On your six, cop man!" Sha Lin joined the fray with The Bow and aimed it straight at Seris' son, "Take this, you rat faced freak!" he laughed and fired two arrows in quick succession.

"FIRE!" Lex commanded all The Laws to fire.

Sereno closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  
Then felt the calm weightlessness of peace.

"What the…." Sha Lin stepped back as the man and his horse slowly started to rise up into the sky.

"Bingo." Sereno got a peek of Lian's head from his higher position and aimed his rifle.  
KAPOW!

Power Khan suddenly appeared and intercepted the bullet before it struck its master

"Huh?" Zhin turned to see the hulking stand holding the bullet in its hand.

"What's this?" Lian also turned, "Oh, you caught it." She said rather nonchalantly and looked at the item, "It's time to return this to sender." She smirked and glared at Sereno.

Power Khan placed the bullet in between its fingers and flicked it at an astounding speed.

"What-" Sereno's right cheek was cut as the bullet raced past him.  
"That stand…" he murmured as he looked at Power Khan, "I must defeat it. There's something about it…"  
He had no time to think as some arrows came towards his horse.  
"BAD!" he called out his stand and reverted gravity so that his horse no longer rode on the sky.

"Nice try, punk!" Sha Lin laughed and redirected his arrows.

Sereno was in shock, but still managed to redirect gravity in such a way that his horse slid down the face of the road, causing the arrows to overshoot and strike the ground. However, the consequence of this was that the sudden planting of his horse to the ground in a horizontal manner caused the equine's legs to break and its body to slam Sereno's left leg with all its weight into the cobblestone ground.

"I have him now!" Lex pointed at the criminal scum and made The Laws fire.

Ignoring his pain, Sereno made BAD! appear and made it punch the ground.  
The cobblestone started to crack as the gravity intensified until it gave way to a large sinkhole.

"Where'd he go?" Sha Lin grumbled as his target disappeared into the pitch darkness of the hole.

Though Sereno was far from down and out, for his smart plan paid off and he and his steed were soon carried by the waters of an underground sewer way.  
"Finally…" the proud son exhaled as he finally felt some reprieve from his situation, "Perhaps these waters are fast enough to catch up to the wagon. These lowlifes will pay for their insolence! Mother! I swear it!" he looked up at the top of the sewer way and saw that there was some dust falling down in a consecutive and linear motion.

"Bingo…" Sereno freed himself from his horse, allowing the waters to carry him with greater swiftness.  
"BAD!" he called out his stand as he brought out another bullet from his belt.

The stand did the usual and took the bullet and spun it in its hands.

Sereno looked at the small tremors and falls of dirt above him, concentrating on the advanced trigonometry he had to commit to in his head. After a few minutes, and despite the churning of the waters and echoes of the sewer walls rattling in his ears, his eyes opened.

The bullet BAD! was holding was so hot from all its spinning that the sewer water that came towards it immediately became vapor and sizzled loudly, adding to more distractions that slowed down the rotations slightly.

"I can't concentrate…" Sereno growled, "Gravity! Give me strength!" he yelled.

Then it clicked.

"BAD!"

The gravity stand opened its hands and the flash appeared, illuminating the sewerway and scaring all the rats and critters that were there.

KAPOOM!  
The cobblestone road in next to the armored enforcer wagon suddenly erupted with such violence that the horses screamed in fright.

"What was that!?" Sarah yelled as the left wall of the wagon was torn off with all the armor and wood falling apart.

"DAMN IT!" Zhin tried to control the vehicle as the back wheel was struck by shrapnel.

"What was that!?" Lian looked overboard and saw the gaping hole.  
Then felt it.  
Something in her soul. In her spirit.

Power Khan immediately appeared and pushed her and Zhin back.

KAPOOOM!

The ground underneath the driver's bench erupted and ripped the front half of the wagon apart.

"AGH!"  
"ACK!" Lian and Zhin tumbled down the road.

"WOAH!"  
"ARH!" The force of the wagon losing its forwards momentum catapulted Sha Lin and Lex from the top and led them to the same fate as Lian and Zhin.

"Moji!" Sarah grabbed the leipori and used her stand to fly them out of the large opening on the side of the wagon before it overturned and tumbled.

KRASH! The wagon broke into pieces when it struck a large column, sending large pieces of wood and metal flying all around the street and into buildings.

The draft horses escaped unscathed and continued down the road in a fright.

"Argh….." Lex groaned as he lifted himself up, "Sheriff Officer Lex here… ARV is a 556." He spoke into the magic shell.

"We have been notified of the crash, Officer." The dispatcher responded, "Sending fire and medical to your location."

Lex panted and dusted of his armor, then turned his attention to the groans and moans of his Paladin allies and Sha Lin.  
"Is everyone alright?"

"I think a broke a spleen…" Sha Lin grumbled and popped his back.

"Shut up." Zhin grunted as he and Lian walked towards the enforcer, "Say… who left the pig pen open?" he asked and pointed behind Lex, Sarah, and Moji.

A cavalcade of enforcers was coming down the road.

"Huh…" Lex sighed in relief and wiped the sweat of his brow, but then noticed something peculiar.  
Instead of forming streaks across his leather glove, the liquid started to form small spheres and gloat away.  
"No…"

"What's wrong?" Sarah asked the now worried Lex.

The enforcer pulled out his shellphone, "Everyone get out of here! Cease Engaging! Cease-"

Another explosion came out from under the road and stopped the enforcers in their tracks. Some managed to get off and prepare for action, taking positions behind lampposts and columns as the others stood watch over the crater.

"Get out of here!" the Paladins called out to their civilian allies.  
"Get out!" Sarah screamed.

"Come forward with your hands up!" one of the enforcers, an elf with gray hair and a peppered mustache, called out as he aimed his rifle at them.

"Walk backwards to the sound of my voice!" another screamed as she reloaded a shotgun.

"Get back!" Lex intervened.

The enforcers were unmoved, but it was only for a moment as one of the enforcers operating a spotlight jerked it back to the crater.

A shadowy figure started to rise from the smoking rubble.

"What the…" Zhin squinted as he tried to figure out who it was.

"Is that…"

"What kind of magic spell…." An enforcer murmured as he kept his magnums fixated on the rising person.

"WATCH OUT!" an enforcer screamed as one of the armored wagons suddenly came tumbling down the road, causing many men and horses to run for cover.

The wagon stopped and covered the crater and the figure.

"That's him!" Lian used Power Khan to look at the figure before he was covered, "That's that damn blowhard!"

The wagon started to rise up much to the amazement of the enforcers and whatever civilians looked from their windows.

"That's him! The Blowhard got in the GODSDAM ARMORED WAGON!" Lian continued.

The back doors of the wagon opened, revealing Sereno clinging on to the sides and looking up towards the night sky.  
"Gravity. Destiny. Fate." He spoke out loud, "These are the things that guide me to a better path. Towards a better tomorrow. It is the reality that is gravity that will lead mankind to the TRUTH.  
It has taken me a while to see it, but thanks to my Mother's Wisdom.  
My Father's Practicality.  
And the Power of my Lineage.  
I will rise above the common man as a disciple to the Greater TRUTH.  
No! Not only a disciple, the Prime Inheritor as the First Born!"

Lian snarled and used Power Khan to get a boosted jump towards the wagon.  
"Hngh!" she caught hold of it and maneuvered towards the rear.

"Even then, I may be sorrowed saying this!" Sereno continued,  
"It took more than my Mother's Wisdom or my Stand to realize this.  
The ones who finally pushed me was the traitor, the fallen bloodline!  
When Sarah brought her dogs of war, I felt it.  
My Body, My Soul! Oh it spins in infinite wonder.  
It was her actions that led me to it. To the TRUTH!"

"SHUT UP YOU STUPID CONDESCENDING BASTARD!" Lian yelled and popped out from the side,  
"POWER KHAN!"

"RAH!" The hulking stand shot out of its owner and raised its golden fist in the air.

"The time to show these degenerates the truth has come. The time for my bloodline to usurp the gods from their place in controlling Fate is here." Sereno's eyes started to glow.

A bright flash of light engulfed the wagon.

"AHHHHHHH!" Lian's scream sounded.

"What's going on!?" the elven enforcer yelled as he tried to find a target.

Out from the flash Lian's body tumbled down and struck the earth, but Power Khan had saved her from the brunt of it.

"Lian!" her allies ran to her side.

"What… was that?" Lian groaned as she lifted herself up.

"I got him!" Sha Lin stepped forward with The Bow and aimed it at Sereno.

"BAD!" Sereno called out his stand, which outstretched its arms and raised them to high heaven.

"Woah woah woah! WOAH!" Sarah yelled as all the people in the vicinity started to rise up from the ground.

"Not this again!" Zhin groaned.

"What's going on!?" some enforcers yelled as they were also lifted into the air.

"Stop this!" another enforcer yelled and aimed her shotgun, then fired.

Sereno saw this and manipulated the gravitational pull on the pellets so they fell to the ground.  
"Pitiful!" he directed BAD! to grab a splinter of wood from the wagon and spin it in its arms.

"He's doing that thing again!" Lex alerted his friends.

BAD! opened its hands and released the sphere of molten wooden energy.

The enforcer that fired her shotgun was immediately vaporized, leaving only badly burned boots and gloves, as well as singed hair.

"OFFICERS! FIRE!" the elven enforcer yelled.

Sereno saw the incoming assault and further decreased the gravity on the enforcers, lifting them high towards the sky.  
"SEE THE TRUTH, AUNT SARAH!" he called out.

Once the officers were high enough, the son of Seris returned gravity to them.

"AHHH!" many screamed as they plummeted to the ground.

"That bastard!" Lex yelled and called out The Law, "The lowest of criminals! An absolute Reprobate to THE LAW!" he clenched his fist.

"Watch out!" Sarah screamed as the armored wagon now careened towards them.  
"CROSSPYRE HURRICANE SPECIAL!" she called out Furious Flame and made it shoot out the large sigils of fire that consumed the wagon entirely.

Moji took out her stand in the form of sand to extinguish any remaining embers and flames that threatened them.

"Time to take a sho-" Sha Lin stopped when he saw Sereno and BAD! looking at them.

"Gravity shift!" Sereno switched the gravity and made the Paladins fall back.

"Not smart, kiddo!" Sha Lin continued his attack and aimed The Bow, firing an arrow at him.

Sereno growled and made Sha Lin's gravity shift again, however, this action was useless as the archer just winked at him and kept switching the arrow's trajectory at every position.

"Hrrr!" Sereno changed his own gravity, but even then it was still following him, "This stand is a nuisance!" he was struck by the arrow in the leg, "I have to get rid of this rat!"

"Keep going, Sha Lin!" Lian motivated the archer as he drew back The Bow.

Sereno normalized his gravity to walk back on earth, figuring it would be easier to avoid the incoming arrows.

"No matter where you run, you cannot escape THE BOW!" Sha Lin redirected his arrows.

"And neither can you escape the power of GRAVITY!" Sereno shifted Sha Lin's gravity so he impacted a wall, but even this relief was cut back when Lex and the Law added to his worries.  
"You are my biggest threat!" he pointed to Sha Lin and pulled out a bullet from his belt.

BAD! Spun it around in its hands.

"What is that….?" Zhin squinted, "Princess, do you know what he's doing?"

"I-I don't know! I never seen gravity do that!" Lian murmured, "I didn't know it could do that!"

"Do what?" Sarah asked as she grabbed Moji and placed her in her bosom.

"Whatever that spinning is." Lex interrupted, "He grabs some random thing and then launches it after spinning it. I don't understand it. I think it has to do with that Gravity posh he speaks of. Whatever- SHA LIN!"

BAD! opened its hands, and in a flash of light let go of its payload.

Sha Lin narrowly avoided being vaporized as the projectile missed, but the force of the blast still sent him flying into the air.  
"ARGH!" he landed back on the walls of the building.

Sereno grabbed a nearby shard of metal from the armored wagons.  
"Impotent race of cretins, how long will you live in the dark and not see the TRUTH." He handed the shard to his stand,  
"I guess I must share this gospel to you unenlightened barbarians!"

All the gravity returned to normal, causing his enemies to fall to the ground.

"Gravity and spinning objects are directly intertwined, just look at this world we live in! It spins to bring us night and day!" Sereno proclaimed.

"The Sun revolves around the world you dumbass!" Zhin yelled, "Just look at the sky!"

"Stop making an idiot of yourself!" Lian smacked him on the back of the head.

"I have seen Gravity's speed manifest itself in this spinning! It is a speed without equal! For the Speed of Gravity is the Speed of Light!" Sereno pointed at Sha Lin, who was making his way towards Lian.  
"THE SPEED OF GRAVITY IS THE SPEED OF TRUTH!"

BAD! held the molten metallic ball of energy in its hands and opened" them.

Zhin jumped in front of Sha Lin to shield him.

Thousand Hands appeared and immediately removed its armor.

The flash of light shone from BAD!

KACHLING! The energy reflected off Thousand Hand's sword as it swung across the air.

"WHAT!?" Sereno screamed in shock.

"What? Impressed?" Lian stepped up, "Don't you know Zhin's stand is one of the fastest in The World? At least second to my own." She smirked.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Sereno yelled and handed another projectile to BAD! and changed his gravity so he fell back and gained more distance.

"Thanks, princess, but you have the order wrong!" Zhin laughed, "The speed of light is nothing to me!" he pointed at the fleeing Sereno.

"But it is to them!" Sereno responded and aimed at Sarah and Moji, "SO LONG TRAITOR!"

The gravity speed bullet shot out.

"RAH!" Power Khan appeared and intercepted it with its fist, causing the projectile to careen away and destroy a column behind them.

"NO!" Sereno screamed, "THIS CANNOT BE!" in desperation he switched the gravity on his enemies.  
"I AM THE ONE WHO IS SUPPOSED TO KNOW THE TRUTH! I CANNOT BE OUTDONE!"

"My stand is the world's strongest and invincible stand!" Lian made Power Khan grab Zhin and throw him towards Sereno.

"Nice idea, Princess!" Zhin laughed as the strength of Power Khan's throw fought against the gravity, "Sha Lin! Cover me!"

"On it! Lex!" Sha Lin pulled out The Bow.

"Princess! Take him out!" Lex made a daisy chain of The Law which each threw Lian towards Sereno.

"Begone!" Sereno made gravity pull Zhin and Lian away, but they kept coming.

"This is the TRUTH Sereno, the one your mother failed to see!" Sarah called out from the back, "Love is the most powerful thing in this universe! Love is the fastest thing in this world! Love is what makes our destiny! Your mother has lost all that!"

"That is… Kinda corny." Sha Lin commented before launching a volley of arrows.

"TAKE THIS!" Sereno made BAD! shoot out another gravity bullet.

"RAH!"  
"ZYAHH!" Power Khan and Thousand Hands completely deflected it from point blank range.

"It's time for you to see the real truth!" Lian glared directly at Sereno's eyes.

In a final act of desperation, Sereno normalized their gravity in hopes they would crash on the ground, but this did not affect their stands.  
"BAD!" he cried out to his stand, "GRAVITY! TRUTH! MOTHER!" he screamed.

Thousand Hands stabbed BAD! Multiple times in its body while Power Khan struck Sereno proper with all its might.

"RAH!" Power Khan sent Sereno flying into the sky with a fierce uppercut.

"Bingo!" Sha Lin redirected his arrows show they struck the man.

Sereno looked up to the stars as he recalled his stand.  
He saw it.  
The Truth.  
And he smiled.

"Mother… I have seen my destiny." He spoke softly as he fell back to the earth, grunting when he struck the cobblestone path.

The Paladins felt their gravity return to them and made their way towards the downed son of Seris.

"Let's finish this." Lex looked at Sarah, who nodded with a hint of remorse, "Sereno, by the power invested in me by THE LAW, I condemn you to death for your crimes against these servants of the Law. There will be no trial. There will be no plea. There will only be divine Justice."

Sereno laughed and called out his stand, which was quickly intercepted by Power Khan with a choke.

"Don't even try it." Lian snarled.

"I have seen the Truth…" Sereno murmured as he directed his stand's arms to hug him, "My FATE smiles upon me, lowborn… can you say the same?"

"Pathetic." Sha Lin looked down at the man, seeing that his stand was the only thing comforting him.

"No… It's not pathetic." Sereno responded, "I know my destiny… yours…. However… is left to be scattered in the wind. To be the droppings of buzzard… But Gravity has cemented my spot in the place of the Firmament. The wonderful spinning. The wonderful pull. The Pull that drives a man to a position beyond the gods. Beyond love. Beyond the Death.  
You cannot see this spinning…."

Sereno's body started to do just that.  
Spin.

It was at this moment Zhin noticed the position of BAD!'s hands.  
Perfectly sandwiching its owner's body.

"After all... We come spinning out of nothingness… Scattering our stars like dust…" Sereno looked up to the heavens, seeing the stars become white streaks of circles that became brighter and brighter.  
"But my stars are… returning…"

BAD! started to dissipate and finally vaporized as its owner did the same.


	31. THE CHILD OF SORROWS

**Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 31**

 **THE CHILD OF SORROWS, SERES**

* * *

"HYAH! HYAH!" Zhin kicked his steed as he and his motley crue made their way down the empty streets of Andilicia. They appeared to be in such a haste and constantly looking over their shoulders as each one rode their own horse- swift stallions of speed and power.

"We're almost out of the city!" Sarah pointed towards the large gates that led to the outside world, "Do you think the enforcers will chase us even in the countryside?"

"Absolutely." Lex responded, "We have power all throughout the realm, especially the rural parts." He murmured. He turned back to see if they were being chased, but all he received was the sound of men and horses with no owner to be seen.  
"Lucky for us, the Outer Tribunal always purchases the finest horses."

"Eh, it's not my first time outrunning the law." Sha Lin murmured as he raced in front of Sarah and Moji to a position left of Zhin.  
"So, where we going, you guys?" he asked.

Lian, who was immediately behind Zhin, sighed.  
"We should be making our way straight to Seris, shouldn't we?" she turned back to Sarah for affirmation.

"Yes." Sarah answered, "It is best to leave this place lest that last child is here. Perhaps she is tending to Serica as we speak, so it's best we beat them to Seris before they are ready."

"Sounds like a plan!" Sha Lin raised his fist, "I call dibs on the first hit!"

"No way, pipsqueak!" Lian scoffed, "You have to get to the back of the line on that queue! I called dibs a long time ago and my Power Khan has been inching to plaster Seris' walls with her face!"

"Ok Princess." Zhin rolled his eyes, "We all have a bone to pick with that wench, so leave enough for the rest of us, eh?"

The Paladins' thunderous charge scared the gate guards, who only stared and held their pikes in shock as the riders came closer and closer.

"Posse coming through!" Lex suddenly took the lead and brought out his badge, "Posse coming through!"

One of the guards lifted a lamp and saw the badge and the man holding it, then pointed to the other guards and gave orders while pointing at the small barricade that had been erected to block traffic. Those guards started to dismantle the small wicker fence as well as directing the two visitors that were trying to enter towards the side of the archway.

"Where would be without you, Lex?" Sarah smiled as she saw what an ease it was escaping the city.

"Probably nowhere good…" Moji, who was hiding in the woman's coat, mumbled.

The guards stepped aside and let the galloping horses through, giving a salute to the Enforcer and his Posse.

"That was easy." Lian sighed and wiped her brow, "Reaching Seris, however, will be another story. Sure, we can reach it before daybreak, but we have the Magistrate Army to worry about then."

"Did you suddenly become chicken?" Zhin smirked, "I thought you were a princess and high royalty to the government."

"I wouldn't be calling anyone out on becoming chicken, Zhin." Lex gave a hearty laugh as he slowed his horse to match their position, "But the archer here has a point. Even my authority may be meaningless to the Magistratus Militarum."

"Well lucky for you, Cop Man, we shouldn't have to worry too much." Sha Lin interjected, "I for one know exactly where to sneak past the grunts of the army. It's all connected to Seris' last residence in Seris. Man, I still can't get over how she's named after that cursed town."

"Shut up and continue." Lian grunted.

"Seris owns an old manor in the Newer addition of Seris." Sha Lin informed them, "That part is actually less difficult to enter than Old Seris, you really just need permission from a higher government official or a valid settler's license… and guess who has one?" the archer reached into his knapsack and pulled out a silver tablet with various engravings and stamps.  
"This is how I could meet Seris so easily, she practically gave me one."

"But would cop man over here count as a higher government official?" Zhin asked him while pointed at their enforcer friend.

"I am one of the Sherriff Officers of the Law." Lex interrupted, "I oversee the execution of the Law in all of the Magistrate's outer territories. Only the Head Council Commissioners of the Outer Tribunal is above me in duty and rank."

"Then that must be a high rank." Lian added, "Seeing that Seris is in the Outer Provinces."

"But it is part of the Military protection. Perhaps I could say that there is a criminal in there, but what's stopping them from going in there and fetching them themselves?" Lex pondered, "Regardless, only time will tell."

"I can always sneak us in." Sha Lin held up his settler's decree.

The Paladins shared a laugh, finally lining themselves up in an orderly fashion so they could all see each other.  
Their horses snorted loudly as they made their way down the dirt road.

"We're almost there, gang." Sarah spoke up, "All the marbles are on the table now. How does everyone feel."

"Hyped!" Sha Lin was the first to respond.

"My search for Justice is coming to an end!" Lex added, "Resplendent!"

"I couldn't feel any better!" Moji squeaked, "I'm glad we can finally finish this as friends!"

"Fire fills my blood and I'm ready to end this pain to everyone here!" Lian looked at Sarah, "Let's do this!"

"The steel of the sword is about to strike." Zhin finished, "My spirit is ready to cleave through this challenge." He gave a smile and let his long black hair flow in the wind. His gaze turned to the sky and his senses tuned into nature and the night.

It was at that moment he turned but saw there was nothing there.

"Something wrong, Zhin?" Lian, who just got out of her own enlightened experience with the night sky, turned to her ally as she noticed his vigilance.

"Nothing…" the swordsman mumbled.

 **00000000**

It was still night when the Paladins rode into a very small town that only spanned four blocks all nestled into the same dirt road they had been travelling on for about three hours. The only major buildings there was a large inn, a store, a clinic, and a feed silo.

"We should rest." Lex informed his allies as he started to slow down, "The Enforcers of Hadea will take hours to mobilize a large enough search party to scour the lands, rest assured on that fact."

"Finally, my ass is becoming sore from this saddle." Zhin grumbled as he made his way off his horse and towards one of the inns but stopped and looked at their surroundings.

The small rural town was ominously quiet. The only lights that were shining apart those from the heavens were two streetlights and light coming from the windows of the inn lobby. The air was crisp and clean and was moved about by a slight breeze coming from the east.

"I can almost make out the lights of the city." Sarah peered over the horizon and saw a faint glow.

The Paladins all dismounted and took their positions in front of the inn.

"I'm so sleepy…" Moji mumbled as she started to climb up Sarah's leg.

"Must be Serica's stand again." Zhin gave out a small chuckle.  
A chuckle that quickly died down when a certain horse came out from the alleyway next to the inn.

A horse with a certain rider on it.

"Ha… Ha… Ha…." Laborious panting came from her trembling body.  
Serica's body.

She was glaring at them with such fury and rage that the whites of her eyes could be seen in the darkness.

"It's you!" the Paladins pointed at Serica as she weakly raised her upper body.

"I'm going to kill you all!" the woman screeched, but was stopped when another woman stepped in and touched her right leg.

"Hyah!" the woman, covered by a dark cloak, slapped the horse in the thigh and made it take off down the road.

"Oh no you don't!" Lex pointed at the fleeing villain and called out The Law.

"Lex! Watch out!" Lian turned to see the newcomer reach into her cloak and pull out a pistol.

"EVERYONE DIES IN THEIR NIGHTMARES!" Serica yelled from her horse, and her stand came out. However, this action had a price as the beating of her heart suddenly increased and her vision became blurred. Her breathing became raspy wheezing, but she still kept her wits about her.

"Sister! No!" the woman yelled and saw Power Khan appear from Lian.

"THE LAW!" Lex ordered his stand to fire before he felt the force of sleep overcome him.

The Law aimed its arm cannon and fired.

Then nothing but the wind. The quiet and gentle wind

"We should rest." Lex informed his allies as he started to slow down, "The Enforcers of Hadea will take hours to mobilize a large enough search party to scour the lands, rest assured on that fact."

"Finally, my ass is becoming sore from this saddle." Zhin grumbled as he made his way off his horse and towards one of the inns but stopped and looked at their surroundings.

The small rural town was ominously quiet. The only lights that were shining apart those from the heavens were two streetlights and light coming from the windows of the inn lobby. The air was crisp and clean and was moved about by a slight breeze coming from the east.

"I can almost make out the lights of the city." Sarah peered over the horizon and saw a faint glow.

The Paladins all dismounted and took their positions in front of the inn.

"I'm so sleepy…" Moji mumbled as she started to climb up Sarah's leg.

"Must be Serica's stand again." Zhin gave out a small chuckle, but that was stopped when he heard the whinnies and stomps of a horse.

That very horse suddenly stormed out from the nearby alley and made its way down the road with no concern for the Paladins.

"Wait a minute…" Lian took out Power Khan and used it to see the rider of the horse, "Say! That looks a lot like… SERICA!" she pointed.

"What?!" her allies spoke in shock.

"Are you serious!?" Lex asked, "She's getting away! I can't possibly hit her with The Law!"

"But I can!" Sha Lin laughed and pulled out The Bow, "Take this!" he drew an arrow and fired it.

The arrow careened through the air and aimed straight towards the rider, expertly maneuvering and making barrel rolls as it traveled.

It was now that the cloaked woman appeared from the darkness of the alley and looked at the Paladins, who were completely oblivious to her presence.  
All except Moji, whose sensitive ears picked up her footsteps.

"HEY!" she squeaked and called out her stand. Po Li erupted from the dirt below the woman and took her away in a dirt slide.

"What the?!" Sha Lin lost focus of his arrow when the interruption occurred, and it made a sharp turn and struck a post.

"Who was that!?" Zhin turned and with his allies saw as the woman slowly picked herself up and then expertly jumped before a stone boulder version of Po Li struck her.

"Moji, stand down!" Sarah took control of the situation and pointed at the recovering woman, "Who are you? Identify yourself!"

The woman stood up straight and looked at her.  
"Aunt Sarah?" she asked, a hint of remorse in her voice. She reached for the hood of her dark cloak and removed it.

It was young woman, a little older looking than Serica, with dirty blonde hair that bordered on light brown. Her face was eerily identical to Seris' from what Sarah could recollect, with the only difference being that her cheeks were fuller. She was shorter than Serica and her figure was much more reserved. She was covered with dark robes, gray and black, like a toga, that ended as a skirt across her pelvis. She had dark leather pants that complimented some dark brown boots which were studded with diamonds at their points.

Compared to Serica, this woman was much more distant and reserved to the point where she avoided to look at the Paladins with her light gray eyes.

"This must be the last daughter of Seris." Zhin stepped forward and immediately took out Thousand Hands, "Surrender now or you will face your sister's fate!" he pointed at her with his hand as his swordsman stand stood close by and did the same with its blade.

"I cannot give up." The woman responded as she held her hands close to her heart.

It was at this moment Sarah noticed that her hands were covered with the same chains and gemstones that once covered her sister.

"Sereno and Serica are counting on me." She continued, "I cannot let you hurt them!"

"Well Sereno is dead, so you lost that chance!" Lex responded, causing the young woman to change.

"No…" the woman shook her head and became visibly distressed, "You're lying! You couldn't kill him!"

"To be fair, he tried to kill us first." Sha Lin shrugged his shoulders.

"What is your name!?" Lian had enough of the conversation.

"My name... is… Seres…." The woman wept, "And I won't let you get away with this!" she screeched so horribly that the Paladins were taken back.  
"SERENO!" she cried aloud.

"Just shut her up already!" Zhin scowled as he covered his ears.

Seres wept.  
And she wept with such sorrow that Sarah became hesitant in proceeding with violence.

"Seres. Please." She looked into her niece's soul and saw that it was beyond a sickly purple-indigo, the colors of extreme grief and agony.  
"Please just listen to me."

"You lie! He's not dead!" Seres glared at them as she started to glow.

"I saw him disappear into the Void. I myself destroyed him!" Lian responded.

"Lian!" Sarah chastised her.

"SHOW US YOUR STAND OR I'LL FORCE IT OUT OF YOU!" the princess continued her anger and brought out Power Khan.

"RAH!" Power Khan shot out and gave a clean uppercut to the woman.

However, she was unfazed.

"What the-"

A purple glow was around Seres as she stood up, revealing the most shocking sight.  
Her stand. It was unlike anything they had seen before.

It was not a humanoid, an animal, or even a moving object.

It was a heart.  
A black heart or some organ that was directly set over her chest. It had long vine like appendages that wrapped around her body like veins. These veins were gray in color and appeared more like wires than vines.

"This is my stand…" Seres mumbled as she opened her cloak to reveal more of these veins running across her body.

A shine appeared from the stand and for a few moments her adversaries were blinded.

"I need to get away from here…" Seres murmured as she started to pull out her pistol from her cloak, "But they must pay for her crimes…" she glared at Lian and aimed straight at her head.

KAPOW!  
KAPOW!  
KAPOW!

A gun fired, but it was not Seres'.

"Zhin!"

Zhin's ears immediately perked up and he and his allies' sights returned.  
"Yamina!"

The Paladins stood in shock as Yamina had her smoking revolver aimed directly at Seres' back.

"Ah… Ah…." Blood trickled down Seres' mouth as she fell to her knees, "Who…" she turned to see the obviously shaken desert woman staring at her.

"Y-Y-Y-You tried to kill my friends…" Yamina spoke as she lowered her revolver according to the enemy's movements.

"Yamina! What are you doing here!?" Zhin ran to her side and guarded her from the dying young woman.

"Finally… You will see the true power of my Stand…" Seres' hoarsely spoke as blood filled her lungs.

The heart stand on her chest started to beat wildly, streaks of white light racing across the 'veins' that ran across her body.  
But interestingly, these white streaks were going towards the heart instead of away from it.

"I will return to you all… I always will." She panted, "That is the nature of:

SAD!."

Seres looked at Yamina as the color from her eyes started to fade.  
"You killed me…" she told her, "And thus my stand SAD! Is complete…"

From the heart sprouted a valve which immediately shot out a small black ball.

"THOUSAND HANDS!" Zhin saw that it was heading straight towards them and called out his stand.

The swordsman stand drew out its sword and swiped at the sphere, but the most shocking thing happened.  
The stand's sword merely went through the item.

Even when Zhin tried to catch it with his hand it merely phased through.  
Phased through and struck Yamani square in the chest.

"WHAT THE!?" the rest of the Paladins gasped in shock as the black sphere burrowed in her chest.

"Ah.. Ah…." Yamina groaned as she felt a pain in her chest, and unbeknownst to her that black sphere shot out metallic vines that burrowed and wrapped across her body.

"YAMINA!" Zhin yelled in horror as he ran to her side.

Seres smiled.  
"SAD!..."

A shining light.

"What is your name!?" Lian had enough of the conversation and called out Power Kha to threaten her.

"My name.. is… Seres…." Seres wept, but stopped it before it became uncontrollable, "And I won't let you get away with the death of my brother…" she lowly spoke.

"Ms. Sarah?" Moji interrupted the scene and pointed behind the daughter of Seris, "Who is that behind her?"

The Paladins took this time to notice two figures behind Seres.  
One was tall and lean, immediately recognized as a camel.

The other, however, sent a chill down their spines.

"YAMINA!" Zhin cried out.

Poor Yamina had the expression of deep melancholy and depression, but what horrified him the most was the large black flower that had sprouted on her chest and had metallic vines wrapped around her.

"This is my stand…. SAD!." Seres informed them as she showed them her heart shaped stand once again, "With it… we will never forget what you did…."

"What did you do to Yamina!?" Lian pointed at the woman as she started to walk away, "You're not escaping!"

Seres saw that Power Khan was ready to attack and turned to shoot the camel behind her.

The beast panicked and charged, toppling Zhin and making the Paladins scatter. This action in and of itself gave Seres the opportunity to escape from all but one of the Paladins.

"READY OR NOT!" Sha Lin jumped to the side with The Bow and aimed it.

Seres saw this action and ran into the alleyway.

"Zhin!" Lex called to his ally, "The stand user-" he saw that the swordsman was not even paying attention.

Zhin was holding Yamina's right hand as she lay there weeping to herself. She was muttering nothings to herself as her eyes lost their luster and color. The only life these eyes had were the tears welling up in them, which eventually streamed down and made mud in the dirt road underneath her.  
"Yamina, what are you doing here…" he spoke to himself with such anger that he bared his teeth.

"Zhin…" Sarah walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, which he immediately buffed away with his body.

"You told me you weren't going to follow after me." The swordsman continued and clenched her hand, "You promised me!"

"Zhin! She's going to be alright!" Lex did a quick check on her pulse and turned to him, "Listen to me-"

"Don't you tell me that when there's this thing on her!" Zhin erupted and grabbed Lex by his cape. He pushed the black man away forcefully and took out his stand.  
"I'm going to carve that bitch's face into pieces!"

"ZYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Thousand Hands attacked the flower and vines with expert precision in order not to damage Yamina's body, but every pierce and slash met with the blade deflecting with no visible damage to the thing.

"Is this a stand?" Sha Lin asked his allies as he inspected the item.

"Yes." Sarah inspected the phenomenon through the Pyre, and saw that this item was not part of Yamina nor a physical object.

"We have to go get that Seres girl!" Lian alerted them as she caught sight of Seres standing in the alleyway fumbling with something.

"We can go get her!" Sha Lin grabbed her hand and started to take her to the alley.

"I'll be here with Zhin and Yamina." Sarah told Lex.

"I'll guard you as well!" Moji stood in front of her.

Lex nodded and made his way trailing behind Lian and Sha Lin.

Sarah sighed and turned to Zhin, who was slowing down his efforts on attacking the stand once he noticed the attempt was futile.

"I will…." The swordsman panted and fell to his knees, "Yamina…"

"Why is the world so gray…?" Yamina spoke as she stared blankly down the road, "All I feel… all I see… is pain."

"Yamina, don't say things like that…" Zhin told her as he placed his hand over her head.

"What's wrong with her, Ms. Sarah?" Moji asked, quite saddened by the state of the young woman.

"She's sad, Moji." Sarah saw Yamina's soul through the pyre and saw that it was a sickly mix of purple, gray, and deep blue, "Very sad. Zhin… let me see something…"

Zhin was hesitant at first but removed his hands from Yamina's head and nodded.

Sarah usurped this place and took a deep breath. Her hands gained a surge of Pyre energy which made them glow.  
Immediately Sarah began to slowly see something.

What Yamina was seeing.

Yamina's weeping intensified as her mind wandered and the constricting nature of the alien stand that infected her took its toll. Even though she could not see what was causing such pain, she could very well feel it in her body, soul, and mind.

What she saw physically was a world without color. The heavens were not the deep indigo blue they once were, and the many twinkling stars had lost their luster.  
Life, to her, appeared to be like an old noir film- expressionless, grainy, and without vibrance.

But it was what her mind's eye was seeing that was really sapping her.

Both she and Sarah were seeing many of the past events of her life playing like a highlight reel, but all these past events were depressing or morbid moments.

She remembered of her pet parakeets being devoured by an alley cat when she was a young girl, how she wept at the foot of that cage as she held feathers and skin in her hands.

Then her memories brought her to the destruction of her first home to a fire.

Sarah became saddened at all the memories that Yamina was reminded of.

Yamina cried when she remembered the death of her first dog.

"What's going on with her, Sarah…?" Zhin asked her.

"This stand is making her relive all the most painful events in her memory over and over again." Sarah answered him with pain in her tone, "This must be the secret to Seres' stand…"

"That means Mr. Lex and Ms. Lian should be careful!" Moji gulped.

"Zhin…"

Zhin's ears perked when he heard and saw Yamina move. A first, and he was extremely overjoyed at the fact that the young woman had gained enough ability to sit up.

"Sarah." Yamina turned to Sarah, a distant expression in her eyes, "Zhin…"  
For just a moment, a sparkle of color returned.

"Yamina, are you alright?" Zhin held her shoulders.

"It's… The world is so gray…" Yamina spoke plainly and with none of the sincere and joyful attitude she once held, "So cold, so barren… Perhaps it would just be better to return to a better time…"

"What are you saying?" Zhin shook his head, "Don't listen to that plant, you hear me?"

"All I see is sadness… This is what that woman showed me." Yamina continued, "But…"

"That was her stand, Yamina." Sarah interrupted her, "You probably won't understand it since you can't see it, but it's a spirit that is affecting you! You need to tell us everything!"

Yamina sighed and turned to see Moji.  
She saw her injured ear and wept, for she was reminded of how her sister was once injured near fatally when they were playing.  
"I just want to go back!" she cried out, "I want to go back like that woman! I never want to live this life!"

"What do you mean!?" Zhin was becoming frustrated and picked her up in his arms, "Yamina, I'm here for you-"

"Get back here!" Sha Lin yelled, and the three Paladins saw that their allies and Seres had appeared back on the road but a good distance away after coming out from another alley way.

"Take this!" Seres pulled out a long gun from her coat and unleashed its payload on them.

"RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH!" Power Khan appeared and protected Lian, but Sha Lin and Lex had to dive for cover.

The mere sight of Seres incensed Zhin, who set down Yamina and let her stand on her own accord.  
"I'm going to end this!" he yelled and ran towards Seres.

Seres turned to see the man and his stand running straight towards her and was about to turn the rifle, but heard the unfortunate click of the magazine.

"I'm GOING TO CUT YOU IN HALF!" Zhin roared and made his stand flying in front of him.

"SAD!..." Seres gulped

At the last second, Zhin crouched, catching the woman off guard.

Zhin looked back at Yamina and saw that she was looking at him, but with her lack of emotion he could not tell what she was thinking.  
But this was no time to worry about that, this was the time to put the steel of the sword to the fire.

"Time to die…" the swordsman muttered under his breath

Thousand Hand spun in place and removed its armor, then in less than a blink of an eye was already a good distance past Seres.

"By the gods…" Lian gasped, as even with Power Khan's fast and precise eyesight she could barely keep up with the movement Thousand Hands just committed.

"By the gods is right…" Sha Lin gulped when he saw a glowing red streak across Seres' midsection, completely bypassing the heart and veins of her stand.

"Aaaaaah….. ah….." Seres moaned as she lost all feeling of her lower body.

Sarah covered Moji's eyes as quickly as she could.

Yamina stood in absolute shock.

Seres' legs fell forward, leaving her upper body to collapse to the ground.

"ZYAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Thousand Hands returned and struck SAD! as it lay over Seres' body.

"I'm going to destroy your wicked stand!" yelled Zhin, but then started to notice something.

Just like the flower and vines on Yamina, this stand too seemed to be indestructible.

"RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH!" Power Khan suddenly joined in and also tried to damage SAD!, but it was not use.

Seres smiled as blood trailed down her mouth.  
Once again the white pulses of light raced down the veins and into the heart.

Yamina looked at this and stretched out her hand to the bewilderment of Sarah and Moji.  
"Zhin!"

"SAD!..."

A flash of light.

Yamina saw as the world was suddenly overlayed with a purplish color scheme for as far as she could see, then it happened.  
Just as she had seen before.

Seres, who had been cleaved in two, was now being put back together as her legs stood straight back up and her upper body set itself back into place.

Zhin rose up from his crouch and walked in reverse back towards her.

Sha Lin, Lian, and Lex also started to walk back into reverse from whence they came.

Seres turned back to see Yamina staring at her as she also started to reverse walk back into the alleyway.

Yamina, however, stayed in place, even when Zhin reached the place where he originally was and outstretched his arms when he was carrying her.

Then the purple scheme faded.

"Get back here!" Sha Lin yelled, and the three Paladins saw that their allies and Seres had appeared back on the road but a good distance away after coming out from another alley way.

"Huh?" Zhin looked at his arms and then looked at Yamina who was standing next to him, "Yamina… How- when did you." He was confused.

The desert woman was about to answer when the melancholy returned.  
The memories stronger than ever.

* * *

 **Thank you for all my readers who have waited since my pause!  
** **Please review! Stay tuned for the next part!**


	32. THE CHILD OF SORROWS II

**Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins**

 **Chapter 32**

 **THE CHILD OF SORROWS, SERES  
PART II**

* * *

Zhin fell to his knees.  
He wanted to focus on the odd situation at hand and at the arrival of Seres from out of the alleys, but he could not.  
Something was pulling him away from this world faster than he could muster up the anger to lash out at the young woman who was causing his allies so much hassle.

And Sarah saw why.

"Z-Z-Zhin…" she stammered as a little black flower sprouted on his back.

"HNGH!" the swordsman yelled as the vines of the flower suddenly penetrated his being and his stand, which was suddenly yanked out by the appendages and bound.

"PO LI!" Moji called out her stand and made it into a rock bat, which she swung to remove the vines off Thousand Hands. However, just like all the other previous attempts, no damage was done to the intruder.

Sarah immediately ran to Zhin and placed her hand on his head, for she saw that, unlike Yamina, his flower was growing at an exponential rate.

"AHHHHHH!" Zhin cried out to the sky as the darkest memories of his mind raced forth.  
Especially those memories.

The black haired woman he loved so much sprawled out on her desk with her head cast open.  
The redness everywhere, the staining of wood and carpet, of wall and floor.

These memories caused the flower to become as big as his entire torso and for its vines to become as thick as telephone cables. These very vines constricted Thousand Hands from movement, not that its owner had any ability to move it in the first place.

"Zhin! Listen to me!" Sarah panicked as she tried to the bring the grieving eastern man back to reality, "Zhin."

"Mr. Zhin!" Moji was about to prance over to her friend but was torn when she saw Yamina collapse to the ground as well, weeping.  
"Yamina!" she istead hopped over to her.

"Zhin shouldn't suffer like this…" Yamina cried to herself, "Zhin…"

Nearby,

Seres had expertly deflected some of The Law's stand blasts with her own stand and was now running to take cover behind a column.  
"It seems my risk in infecting that swordsman worked out well…" she murmured to herself when she turned to see Zhin's debilitated position.

"Take this!" Lian had used Power Khan to jump closer to her and used it again to smash the wooden pole she was hiding behind in two.

"HAH!" Seres pulled out a handgun and shot at the woman.

Lian gnashed her teeth as the few bullets that managed to escape Power Khan's defensive speed raced past her face, one even scraping her left cheek.

"Lian!" Lex came into the scene and directed The Law to fire at their foe.

Sha Lin loaded an arrow but then turned to see Zhin crying out to the heavens.  
"What the- Hey!" he saw that his stand was bound by vines, "Get off!"

Three arrows raced from The Bow and careened all the way towards Thousand Hands, striking the vines around it with utmost accuracy but ultimately proving useless when they bounced off and landed harmlessly on the ground.

Well, almost harmlessly.

Zhin turned to face one of the arrows that had thudded on the ground and it all rushed back to him.  
All the memories, all the pain, all the darkness inside dog pilled into his mind and that was it.

He broke.

With an aggressive push he shoved aside Sarah.

Curiously, the vines that once constricted Thousand Hands now imbedded themselves into its being, freeing it for movement.

"Zhin?" Sarah stammered as she saw the swordsman walking towards the archer.

Sha Lin noted this action too and was confounded at first, but it all it took was one glance at the man's tearstained and puffy eyes to understand it.

Zhin had a menacing and dark aura around him.

Sha Lin pulled out The Bow and fired at Zhin to the shock of Lex and Lian, which was soon amplified by the fact that Zhin deflected the arrows with his stand.

"Zhin!" Lian stopped her assault on Seres and started to run to his position, "What's wrong with you!?"

Lex took over in suppressing Seres, but not without saying: "Lian, Sha Lin! Something is on Zhin! Look! It's just like Yamina's!"

Lian took a moment to notice the flower and vines on Zhin and turned her gaze back to Seres.  
"Explain this, you old crone!"

Seres popped out from her cover of a barrel and sighed deeply, brandishing an assault rifle with the intent to kill.  
"You have brought me much pain in afflicting my family. Injuring my sister, killing my brother." She called out, "It is only fair I give the sensation of that much pain, that much sorrow, back to you. All the SAD! things in this world never truly go away, they are never fully cleansed by the passage of Time and Space. Flowers bloom and wither, children become adults, streams dry up, clocks unwind and break, but the persistence of memory goes on beyond them all."

Her stand started to glow a deep purple.

"Many people see the past as a way to grow stronger, as a method to bring up old glories. But my mother has shown me that it is the sorrows of the past that ultimately matter." She continued.

These words stung deep into the soul of Sarah, as memories of her sister speaking to her came to light.

"Ultimately, life is a tragedy, and we are all merely actors on stage waiting for our exit." Seres looked up to the stars.  
"My brother had his exit, perhaps my sister will too, but it is I who has to continue the play." She made her way towards Lian, "My stand's second ability allows the actors to become committed to their part by showing them the true nature of the tragedy of life."

"Second ability, shows us the first one, asshole!" Sha Lin aimed The Bow at her when he saw that Zhin capitulated to his sorrow.  
"I don't want to be turned into Sha Lin Sashimi!"

"That… is nothing I can reveal to you…" Seres scowled, "But soon it will reunite me with brother and sister… But what I can reveal to you is this! SAD!'s second ability, JOCELYN FLOWERS!"

"RAH!" Power Khan shot out and struck Seres in the right leg, shattering it on impact.

"Lian!" Sarah piped up, "This stand ability is making Zhin and Yamina see their wo rst memories in their lives!" she informed them, "It's debilitating their ability to live!"

Seres groaned as she picked herself back up.  
"I am living the tragedy every day. It is only fair that others see their own too." She smiled and gave a deep sigh.  
"SAD!"

"TAKE THIS!" Lian yelled at the top of her lungs and directed Power Khan to haymaker her head into the ground.

Silence…

Sha Lin pulled out The Bow and fired at Zhin to the shock of Lex, which was soon amplified by the fact that Lian was no longer next to the enforcer but kneeling in front of a destroyed barrel.

"Lian!" Lex and Sarah cried out as the woman gnashed her teeth and started murmuring angrily to herself. It was appearing that she was struggling with some internal conflict and was completely oblivious to her surroundings.

Even Power Khan, the everpresent guardian, was immobile.  
Then the reason appeared.  
Vines.

"Lian!" Moji cried out as a flower bloomed on her head, "Ms. Sarah!"

"Lian!?" Sha Lin stammered and then noticed Seres walking towards her.

The daughter of Seris stopped and pointed her handgun right at the princess's head.  
"Your part is over, princess." She mumbled to herself and pulled the trigger several times.

"LIAN!"  
"LIAN! NO!"  
"HORRRYYYY SHIIIITTTTT!" Lex, Sarah, and Sha Lin yelled in horror as Power Khan faded and the princess' body collapsed to the ground.

"THE LAW!" an incensed Lex called out to 15 copies of his stand, "15 OFFICER POLICE SHOOT OUT! FIRE!"

Seres noticed this action and all the various stands that appeared around her.  
"It is too soon to use SAD!, it is too risky to bring her back! But I cannot escape!" she thought to herself as the hail of blasts shot towards her.  
"If I don't use it… I'll DIE!"

"PUNISMENT IS: DEATH!" Lex pointed at her with righteous indignation.

Seres closed her eyes.

Sarah turned to see that a few streaks of white light, like spores, came out of the flowers that were on Yamina and Zhin and shot towards Seres.

Yamina looked up, finally reeling from her grief.

"SAD!"

The world turned purple.  
Seres looked distraughtly at the night sky.

Lian's sat back up and her head put itself back together as the bullets from Seres' handgun retracted back into the barrel. The moment the flower reappeared on Lian's head was the moment whatever was happening stopped affecting her, as it was now happening to Yamina and Zhin.

Eventually everything returned to normal.

At least as normal as it could be.

Lian was now alive again, but Lex had now capitulated to the power of JOCELYN FLOWERS as well. His eyes now catching a monochrome view of the battlefield with memories of all his failed missions coming to his mind.

A woman caught on the railroad tracks he was too late to save.  
An orphanage full of children that burned before his eyes.  
A previous enforcer partner gunned down in cold blood by a gang of orks in their very wagon.

Unlike the others, who were weeping loudly, only a single tear could escape Lex's eye, but he was still far from being viable to fight.

The only people left standing were Sha Lin, Moji, and Sarah, who now had the task on protecting all their downed comrades from the incoming assault of Seres and her automatic rifle.

"Most of you are down, now most of you will make your grand exit." The daughter of Seris spoke as she loaded a magazine.

"Moji! Take care of her!" Sarah told the leipori when she noticed Yamina standing up.

"Hmph! Alright!" Moji took a deep breath, "NOTORIOUS PO I. LI!" she called out her stand.

"What the!?" Seres exclaimed and aimed her assault rifle, only to have her bullets stopped when Po Li turned into a stone wall that deflected it.  
"HRRR!" she growled but had no time to channel that rage since the worse was yet to come.

And did it come.

From the top of the stone wall Sha Lin jumped up and aimed The Bow straight at her.  
"TAKE THIS!"

"SAD!"

The arrows shot out deflected off the stand, but the archer still dive bombed and struck the woman physically with a downwards kick to the face.

Seres tumbled to the ground with violence.

Moji made Po Li into a miniature sandstorm that picked up the enemy and sent her into the sky.  
"This is for my friends!" she yelled.

"Hold it right there, pipsqueak!" Sha Lin told her as he held his ankle, "Damn it…" he grumbled.

Nearby, Sarah was tending to Yamina, who was slowly gaining the color back to her face.  
"Are you ok?" she asked her, then saw the most peculiar sight.

Despite anyone with JOCELYN FLOWERS on them having sickly purple-indigo souls of grief, there was a spark of white in hers.

This too was felt by Seres, the master of the sorrow parasite.  
"Huh?" she ignored the pain brought by the grains of sand and looked in the direction this sentiment was coming from.

Despite her weakness, a spark of light shone in Yamina's eyes.  
"Despite the sorrow…" she groaned as she held her chest, "Despite the rain and the clouds… despite the streams drying up and the flowers withering… There is still hope…"

"I can't hold it for long!" Moji cried out as her focus and sandstorm started to falter.

Sha Lin growled as the pain of his broken ankle was too much to bear.  
"Give me a few minutes!" he tied his foot with his red scarf.

"I cannot live with my sister's death, or my mother's sickness, but what I can do is look… to a new sunrise…" Yamina stood up fully, "A new flower popping up… A new child being born… Sarah." She turned to the woman before falling back into the ground.

"What is it, Yamina?" Sarah looked at her in concern.

Yamina took in a deep breath, trying her best to ignore the pain and sorrow of the vines around her chest.  
"I may not understand all this stand business, or these SAD! or Joshua Flowers… but I do know one thing. That woman, the woman who Zhin attacked, when she says SAD. Everything becomes back."

"Huh?" Sarah shook her head.

"All things return to how they were." Yamina murmured, "Oh Father! Watch out! There's robbers on the road!" she blurted, showing she was succumbing to JOCELYN FLOWERS once again.  
Despite this, she soldiered on.  
"She turns back time!" she cried out.

The other stand users heard this and lost their focus.

"Turns back time!?" Sha Lin and Sarah yelled in shock.

"NO!" Seres on top of a building nearby and recovered, "Hrrr!" she took out a long rifle and aimed it at Lian before noticing Sarah was running to that location.

"Sha Lin!" Moji cried out, as she couldn't move her stand fast enough.

Seres turned her sights to Zhin.  
POW  
POW  
POW!

Sarah turned and her eyes widened.

Moji stood in fear.

Sha Lin laidback demeanor was deleted from existence.

"Uh…"a sharp exhale.  
Yamina stood in front of Zhin with several bullet holes to her chest and neck.

"Furious Flame!" Sarah called out her stand to save her.

POW!  
POW!  
POW!  
More bullets struck her.

"Perhaps you will see the new sunrise…" Yamina said as she fell to back, "Zhin…"  
A small smile escaped her face.

Seres was about to fire when the same fate met her, except with arrows.  
"HWAK!" an arrow sank itself deep into her neck.

"That was inexcusable!" Sha Lin yelled and put more arrows into The Bow, "She didn't deserve that!"

Seres felt more arrows strike her chest and arms and legs.  
And before the last arrow struck her between the eyes.

Silence.

"NO!" Seres on top of a building nearby and recovered, "Wait! No! I waited too long!" she saw that Sarah was heading straight towards her, "SAD! Turn back time!"

She felt her stand waver and then looked at all the flowers on her enemies.

"I've sapped too much power from that swordsman and that desert woman." She muttered to herself, "And the flowers on the enforcer and the archer are too young to extract from… I'll have to wait before I-"

"Turn back time, huh?"

"Nani?" Seres gasped when she heard that voice.

Sarah was standing on the balcony of the next building with Furious flame perched over her shoulders.  
"To think I am related to you in any way shape or form, especially by blood." She growled and a wave of heat filled the atmosphere.

POW!  
POW!  
POW!

Sarah avoided being struck by rifle bullets and used her stand to fly down safely on the ground.

"WHAT THE!?" Seres exclaimed when a huge boulder burst through the balcony she was standing on and fell back when the splinters of wood struck her arms and legs.  
The daughter of Seris fell off the building with a crippling thud.

"Moji, stand down!" Sarah told the leipori as she walked over to her, "Do not attack her."

"Why not?"

Sarah looked at her allies and turned to Moji.  
"I feel that this awful curse happens if you kill her." She informed, "I think what happens is that if you mortally wound her, she curses you with that JOCELYN FLOWERS and turns back time to save yourself. However, it also appears the JOCELYN FLOWERS allows the person afflicted to see what happened in that lost time."

"My head hurts…" Moji grumbled and pulled down her hat.

"I WILL KILL YOU!"

Moji narrowly avoided the incoming handgun bullets by hopping behind a barrel, but Sarah took some rounds into her leg.

"Aunt Sarah… You had too many chances…" Seres walked out from behind the building she fell off from, holding her chest in pain.  
"Not only do you deny a place with my mother, you killed your own nephew."

Sarah only stared at her with a stoic expression.  
"Perhaps it is was for the best fate separated me from you lot." She clenched her fists, "I could never imagine being family with you."

Seres sighed with deep sentiment.  
"Perhaps it was fate…" she murmured, "It is a fate I am sad to see."

Sarah could see a sadness in her eyes that she could not ignore. It felt as if she was deeply regretting what she was doing, but just as that glint appeared it went away.

"You know what will happen if you mortally wound me." Seres continued as she loaded a clip into her handgun, "Would you take that chance?"

Furious Flame hovered closely behind its owner and glared and their enemy.

"I know your life is the biggest tragedy here…"  
Seres raised her gun.

CLICK.

"Huh?"

A steady stream of sand entered the barrel of the gun.

"What the!?"

"PO LI!"  
Several jagged rocks shot out of the gun and struck the woman in the chest and face.

"Furious Flame!" the fire stand shot out a stream of fire that narrowly missed Seres and shot up to the sky before it swooped down and struck a building.

"You're a fool, Aunt Sarah!" Seres pulled out her assault rifle and laid waste to Sarah with a hail of bullets.  
"THIS IS FOR SERENO."

Sarah felt the bullets penetrate her body and gave an exhale that brought out blood from her mouth before she collapsed to the ground.

"Ms. Sarah!" Moji screamed and popped out from behind her barrel, "YOU BIG FAT MEANIE!"

"NAÏVE CHILD!" Seres responded and pulled out a revolver, seeing it was too late to reload.

PO LI struck SAD!, making its attack ineffective at harming the assailant. The same, unfortunately, did not occur for Moji. Her frail body took several rounds and fell to the ground. Her stand vanished into the sand.

"Hrrr…." Seres panted and took a moment to gather her bearings.  
She noticed her victory and took a look back the sky.  
"Mother, I've done it." She smiled, "Father, Sister, Brother… I defeated the Frayser bloodline."

Several groans brought her back to reality.

The daughter of Seris turned to see the victims of JOCELYN FLOWERS grieving on the ground.

"Almost done." She growled under her breath and reloaded her revolver.  
Her walk was weak but determined, the dirt of the road softly shifting under her boots.

Her first target was the closest, Sha Lin.

"I remember you… You were there looking for gold." She spoke and raised the revolver, "This is the payment from mother."

POW! POW! POW!

Sarah wasted no time and made her path towards Lex and did the same to him. Once that was done she reloaded her revolver again and made her way to Zhin.

"Your flower is the largest." She murmured, noting the size of his JOCELYN FLOWERS stand parasite, "You will die with your regre-"

A large wooden spear shot out of her stomach.

"Ha… Ha…" Moji panted and retracted the wooden spear before shifting it back to Po Li, "You hurt my friends…." She slowly stood up.

Seres gasped and fell to her knees.  
"SAD!..."

Time reversed itself.  
Seres felt a relief when body was freed from the spear's fatal effects and she was taken up by the reversal of her movement.  
She cleared her throat as she avoided Sarah's attack from Furious Flame.

Then everything was set.

"Once again, Aunt Sarah." She spoke as she aimed her newly acquired assault rifle, "DIE!"

"Moji is down and out." Sarah saw Moji's stricken soul through the Pyre, "I took quite a risk trying to get something complicated set up. FURIOUS FLAME!" she made her stand push her down.

Seres had to correct her aim but kept her fire going. However, she was soon dissuaded by the rising flames and decided to flee and reload back into the alleyway.

"Or did I?" Sarah smiled as she kept directed Furious Flame to shoot out a torrent of fire to keep Seres pinned in the alley.

Seres growled as her escape was blocked out by the flaming inferno but used this opportunity to reload all the guns she had.  
"My aunt is cunning, I should keep my back watched."

"No matter how much time you control, if I can set up the right springtrap. If I can just predict the future…" Sarah murmured, "If I can set up the future, I can win!"

"Shut up!" Seres screamed in anger, but then noticed something.  
Smoke.

"There's a reason I let Moji kill you instead of I." Sarah's voice echoed off the wooden walls of the alley, "Because no one is as cunning as Sarah K. Plus setting up my schemes would be more difficult if I had to explain it to many people."

Seres was about to yell something, but the smoke increased.

"The Pyre is showing me something." Sarah continued, "I feel like the next thing you'll say is: 'What is that burning smell?'"

"What is that burning smell-" Seres snarled, but it was soon replaced by horror when she noticed the source.  
A smoldering point near her and near a large barrel labeled KEROSENE.

"When you thought I missed, I actually decided to set fire to this alley way after seeing gas in there!" Sarah laughed.  
"Seeing you just used your time return recently, perhaps you have to rest before you use it again."

"You set me up-"

KAPOOM!

Seres set up SAD! to shield a good portion of her body from the explosion. Her body was launched out of the alleyway and landed in the street.

Sarah stopped launching fire and saw as her niece landed on the dirt.  
"Now it's up to me to deduce is if your JOCELYN FLOWERS ABILITY activates only when you're struck fatally and have the reverse time ability ready or it's always able to be activate at any fatal wounding."

Seres groaned as she stretched out.  
"Why don't you figure out and find out…" she gave a hoarse chuckle.

"Then again, a stand's abilities don't persist after its user's death." Sarah spoke and stood above her niece.  
Furious Flame came out.

Sarah had to take a deep breath before she did what she had to do.

"I never wanted this, you know that, Seres." She spoke to the heavens, "I also am like you. I wish that the fates would have made us a real family. But unlike your mother I do not believe the fates are set. I believe that one can change them with love and kindness…"

Seres breathed in.  
"Just finish it, Aunt Sarah."

"If only it was that easy." Sarah responded, "You act like I held no remorse for you, Serica, and Sereno. But deep down I still regret having to face my own blood in such an unnecessary way. You see those people you infected with JOCELYN FLORES?" she pointed to her allies.  
"Those people, those Paladins, those…. Friends of mine. They sacrificed their lives to join me on my journey to stop whatever wicked thing your mother is doing. Some are dedicated officials of the law, others are simple travelers, and one… is a ruler of a kingdom whose people depend on her… They have their lives yet they set them down for me and for this world. Some of them had people important to them die in their lives, others had nothing to begin with."  
Some tears escaped her eyes, "Please Serica, do not fall for your mother's delusions. No one's fate is set. There is no grand conspiracy against us all. Your mother just wants to usurp the place of the gods in her quest to be queen of all things, including her so called concept of Destiny."

"What do you know?"

"Much more than you can possibly know." Sarah responded, "But there is one thing I don't know. Please, Seres, what is the secret of your mother's stand?"

Seres took in a deep breath.  
"I could never betray her like that. She is my mother. The one who has loved me for many years. The one who has brought me up from my darkest times. The one who has shown me my true destiny."

"No, Seres. She lies to you."

"You don't know that!" Seres snapped and used her last strengths to pull out her revolver.  
But it was too little too late.

Furious Flame came down with a flaming fist and struck Seres in the stomach, narrowly avoiding SAD! and its tendrils.

Seres gagged as she felt the flaming fist penetrate her stomach.

"I'm so sorry, Seres." Sarah said and caused her niece to completely catch fire.

"Mother… Mother…" Seres gnashed her teeth as flames engulfed her, "SAD!" she cried out and tried to activate her stand.

Sarah had to turn around.  
"Furious Flame…. Incinerate."

Her stand made a column of fire shoot down and strike Seres directly.


	33. The Shadowman Cometh

**Lian's Peculiar Journey: Starlight Paladins**

 **ARC IV**

 **THE TEMPLE OF THE KING ARC**

 **The Shadowman Cometh**

* * *

The Paladins had been freed from the parasite of JOCELYN FLOWERS and were slowly recuperating on the steps of an abandoned cabin in the wide frontier.

Few words were being exchanged.

However, there was one member absent from the group.  
Sarah.

She was confining herself under the shade of a small tree next to another small pond.

The heavens were shining in their full glory yet they seemed so dark to her.

"If only you were here, my love." She sighed and looked at the twinkling stars. It seemed that time was slowing down and the world around her was slowing down to a crawl.

"Sarah."

The woman turned to see Yamina standing next to the tree behind her with her arms crossed.  
"Yes, Yamina?"

"You are sad."

Sarah gave a soft chuckle.  
"Why would you say that?"

Yamina gracefully took her ease in the soft grass to Sarah's left.  
"You are looking to the heavens in hopes of something to come down from it."

"Aren't you supposed to be scolded by Zhin?" Sarah bit back rather aggressively.

Yamina was taken back for a moment but recognized it was a mere defensive cope.  
"I did not mean to be insulting by that." She put her hand to her chest, "I'm just… I don't want you to feel like Zhin, Lex, Lian, and that cute rabbit girl felt. I would never wish that upon anyone. Even just thinking it was your fault is not good."

Sarah noticed her intentions and viewed her soul through the Pyre.  
"Yamina, there's something about you. I feel like you could have been a younger me at one time."

"You don't look too old."

"Heh." Sarah laughed, "You'd be surprised how old I am. But regardless. You could say I'm less than happy." She sighed.

Yamina saw the woman's droopy eyes and distant expression.  
"It's going to be ok." She smiled and put her hands on the woman's lap.

A surge of relief suddenly overcame Sarah.  
She felt… at peace. The heavens above her gained more color. The sound of crickets intensified into a lovely chorus with the sound of the breeze through the grass.

"Are you alright?" Lex interrupted the scene, "Yamina. I'm sorry for the way Zhin acted." He put his hand to his chest, "You must understand he's not the best person in expressing criticism."

"No. He's right." Yamina responded and stood up, "I should not have left my father's caravan to follow him. It was foolish and reckless. I understand why he would be upset."

"I don't think you fully understand, sister." Lian stepped in with arms crossed, "Zhin is leaving out more than he leads on, if you know what I mean."

Yamina blankly looked at her.

"UGH!" Lian groaned, "Zhin lov-"

Zhin stood MENACINGLY behind Lian, a dark aura emanating from his very being.

"Are you trying to threaten me, sword boy?" Lian's face was covered by the shadow of her tiara.

"Do I have a reason too?" Zhin responded, his bangs creating the same effect for his face.

"What a pain…"

Power Khan came out.  
Then Thousand Hands.

Menacingly they stared at each other.

"The ball's in your court, princess."

"Might want to take off that armor first, commoner."

"Alright that's enough." Lex spoke up, quite unamused by these shenanigans.

"RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH!"  
"ZZZZYYYYYAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Thousand Hands blocked every single punch from Power Khan with agility.

"ENOUGH!"

"DWAK!"  
"AYYY!" Zhin and Lian were smashed together by an angered Sarah.

"My oh my." Sha Lin rubbed the back of his head, "if this is how your crew is, I probably should regret my choice to come back."

"Those two never learn…" Lex shook his head and helped Lian up.

"Are you ok?" Yamina did the same with Zhin, "Why must you act like this?"

"I'm not the one who ran away from their father-"

"Zhin!" Sarah grabbed him by the ear, "For a so-called street hardened man you sure act like a big baby! Apologize to Yamina right now!"

"Yeah, Zhin." Lian scoffed and smirked, "Tell your girlfriend how sorry y- HEY!"

Sarah tugged on her ear too.  
"I don't want to hear another word out of you, young lady!" she yelled at her, "Don't think I didn't hear what you were saying."

"Sarah, you're overreacting." Lex sighed, "Th- AGH!"

Furious Flame came out and snatched him by the ear too.

"I want all of you to listen to me!" Sarah told them, "We are mere hours away from Seris and to have all of you whining about like big babies is not only shameful, but it will get us killed! Now I want all of you to put on your big boy and girl pants and stop playing around!"

Sha Lin stared at the sight and took a look down at Moji.  
"So… uh… These are The Paladins, right?" he asked her.

"Yeah." Moji responded, "The Starlight Paladins."

"Starlight?"

"I added it, thought it would be cute." Moji giggled, "But why is everyone being so mean?"

"Eh… It's adult stuff, puppy pie." Sha Lin shrugged his shoulders.

00000000

"I'm sorry for the trouble I caused." Yamina told Zhin as the two rode down the trail to Seris together, "I… just wanted to join in your adventure. I also couldn't leave you so abruptly like that."

"I told you our adventure was going to be dangerous." The swordsman responded, "This is no place for a lady like you."

"But Sarah and Lian are with you, and so is that bunny rabbit." Yamina pointed at Moji, who was sleeping softly inside Zhin's saddlebag.

"Excuse me." Zhin turned to her, "Her name is Moji. You will refer to her as such. And while yes, Lian is in this venture, she is in no way a normal lady."

"I heard that!"  
Lian's voice came from in front of them.

"I can say it louder if you want!"

"Do I have to pull your ears again!?" Sarah stepped in.

Zhin rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Yamina.  
"Listen, Yamina. You broke a promise not only to me, but to your father. I don't care what you think about me, but you must absolutely love your father. Imagine how he is feeling right now. And your mother too."

Yamina looked up to the sky.  
"You're right. I was selfish." She sighed, "But…"

"No buts, Yamina." Zhin shook his head, "You shouldn't have come here." He shuddered at the thought of seeing Yamina under the effects of JOCELYN FLOWERS, how powerless and blind she was to that wicked stand and how vulnerable she would be to Seris' unknown power.

Yamina could only keep quiet as the man delved into his thoughts.

The Paladins plus Sha Lin and Yamina made their way to the faint lights of Seris, knowing that this was now the end of their journey. By the daybreak, it will all be over, and whatever heinous plot was being committed to end The Realm would be put to a close.

However, deep inside they all had their doubts.

Sarah worried for the safety of the strangers that have sacrificed so much to help her, even to the point of death.  
She worried for how she would react when faced with her sister, a person she once cared for more than the gods, as an enemy willing to kill her.

Lian was unsure as to how much more will they face with the bad bitch that threatened her friends and her kingdom.  
Would she die? Would the motherly Sarah die? Would the assface Zhin die? Would the innocent Moji and Yamina die? Would Sha Lin die?  
Would Lex die?

Zhin was worried for the safety of his friends as well, hoping that his friend Lex would keep his stoic wits about him and perform his best to keep his guard up. Despite her sass and her hardass attitude, he also hoped Lian would be safe. And Moji, she was just a child, he was absolutely not going to let her suffer as much as he had during his childhood. Then Sha Lin. His former friend. He only hoped than in this life part of life he would face they could once again rekindle that camaraderie they lost.  
Of course, there was Yamina. But that was always present now that she was here. She had no part in this. She was too pure in this world to suffer.  
He would never forgive himself if the sunshine inside her was drowned out by the darkness of Seris.

Lex, being the emotionally absent statue that he was, was the least affected by the nervousness of the mission ahead.  
He knew what had to be done, bring the wicked Seris to justice under the fullest extent of The Law. Her punishment would be swift and her case would be DEATH. There was nothing outside of that. His hardened experience with criminals made him realize that she could never be redeemed and that, under the eyes of The Law, she was nothing more than a filthy reprobate.  
But he would not allow himself to fail his comrades. Zhin. Sarah. Moji. Even Sha Lin and Yamina.  
And Lian.

Sha Lin was worried about the payment he would receive once he defeated Seris. Would the Paladins want to split it up amongst themselves and give him the runt's share of the spoils? He just barely joined their clique and was in no way to bargain for a higher wage, especially with the fact that just a few days ago he was their enemy.  
But seriously, he was also worried about the lives of this motley crue of misfits and what danger Seris posed to all of them. He already felt the aura of her power firsthand, and if the mere aura of that power could shake his soul, imagine the full reveal!

However, despite these doubts and worries, the Paladins trailed on to save the Realm.

 **0000000**

A weakened horse and its rider made their way down the road to an old abandoned manor at the outskirts of a small city.

This Manor was three floors tall and was near a large and seemingly impenetrable wall that was around 5 miles away from it. It had a beautiful outdoor property that was walled in with iron gates at the entrance. The property had the appearance of a beautiful luxurious garden but the plants had long since overgrown and the marble sculptures and columns had become cracked and worn down, some even fully collapsed.

The rider made their way to the front of the manor where they dismounted their ride and shuffled towards the large dark oak doors that separated the inside from the outside world.

Another quick glance of the manor showed that all the windows were covered with stone behind their glass and curtains, and the few lights that shone were all on the exterior of the building. Not one single ray of light came in or out of the manor.

The figure took of their cloak, revealing Serica underneath. She was exhausted, and with little strength she knocked on the doors.

It took a few moments, but the doors opened, revealing an armored guard who quickly let her in.

00

There Serica knelt in front of another large set of oak doors. She was at the end of a staircase that had no lights to guide anyone who dared climb them.  
However, there was a small trickle of light that came from the gap beneath the doors, revealing a steady stream of purple smoke trailing across the ground.

A sound came.  
Footsteps.

A shadowy figure.

"Father…." Serica murmured as the figure went towards her up the staircase.

It was a man, shrouded in darkness for just a moment before he too was illuminated by the light coming from the door.

He wore a dark purple trench coat that lay open at his front, exposing the metallic shine of a metal breastplate to the light from the door. On this breastplate was a giant bright emerald that seemed to give off its own light. He wore dark purple pants that were covered by black boots protected by metal armor.

Serica looked up at him, and then back down.  
"Is Mother here?"

"Yes." The man's deep voice echoed in the darkness and he stepped up to the doors.  
He knelt in front of it.

"My beloved." He spoked again, few rays of light striking his face making it shrouded in shadows.  
"I must make you aware of a terrible fate that has come to our household… Your traitorous sister Sarah and her hounds of war have struck down our children and are headed this way."

Despite such a seemingly tragic report, the man's voice did not change from its deep and unfeeling expression.  
"But, I must report that our daughter Serica has returned alive and is here at your doorstep."

"Serica…" a haunting voice came from the other side of the door, "My Serica… What shall she do for me now?"

Serica kept her face to the ground.

"Come in, my beloved. Come in, Serica."

The shadowy man stood back and reached for the door, revealing his hands covered by gauntlets of iron bound by black leather straps.  
"If I may, my beloved." He spoke and gently pushed the doors apart.

A surge of light shot out, but enough to fully engulf the dark passageway they had come from. This light found its source from a small crystal powered lantern sitting on an oak nightstand.

But this light revealed grander things.

Resting on an oak Victorian bed on soft purple sheets of linen was her.  
Seris.  
Then darkness.

She had shut off the light, but there was still some faint, very faint light that revealed just the miniscule amount of detail the man and Serica needed to make out the woman on the bed.

She was reading a large leather-bound book and drinking a red liquid inside a golden chalice studded with rubies. Seris appeared none disturbed by the entry of the man and Serica and continued her previous actions as if it was only a small puff of wind had blown through.

"My sister truly believes that she could reach me." Seris spoke and took a sip of her drink, "She and her little playthings that she rounded up from the corners of the street. They truly believe that they can save this Realm from the danger I supposedly pose to it. Even that money-grubbing craven youth… what was his name again?"

"Sha Lin." The man responded.

"Yes… him…" Seris continued, "And they even have a poor little woodland creature and a simple desert girl following them, both of them willing to die to stop me, as if I were to destroy them utterly with my mere existence. That foolish and paranoid thinking is not unlike one of an injured beast, lashing out at whatever may come near it."  
She set her chalice down.  
"I must thank fate, however, that I've had helpers and allies who would die for me and the Grand Scheme. People like our own family, your brother and sister… our son and our daughter… Though they were not able to defeat our enemies, their true victory has already been achieved. They have finally found the truth; they understand why they have won."

Serica took in a deep breath.

"My beloved." Seris spoke and reached for her blonde hair, then sat up and pulled it back. This revealed her bare back to them and all the hideous scars that ran across it.  
"You have seen these wounds… and despite that you have fallen in love. You have seen this weakened body and embraced it in passion. Serica. You have seen these wounds too… You have seen them when you nursed on my being. You know how much these scars wound me, how deep into my body they tear. Yet I believe that these scars that my sister has cast upon me, these seemingly permanent scars, will heal if I just had one more fill of living blood."

Serica gulped and looked at her father.

"Mother… If I can heal just for tonight, I swear to you I will bring you the blood you need! I will bring you the blood of whoever you desire! Even the blood of Sarah!"

Seris stood quiet and kept reading her book.

"Mother! Please! I must regain my strengths…" her daughter panted, "My stand would kill me if I used it too much in this state... I swear to you! I will also avenge Seres and Sereno! Father, please… if you wish to join me that would be more than great! We can all finally finish this!"

The room fell silent once the echoes of her voice died down.

The man knelt on one knee and grabbed a nearby copper urn and placed it in front of him.

Serica saw this and was perplexed.

"I swore to be by you in sickness and health. In life and in death." The man spoke, "I swore that I would do anything in my power to make you happy."

Serica's eyes widened in shock as a figure started to form behind her father.  
His stand.  
"F-F-father… what are you doing?" she stammered.

The stand was a legless being made of metal with a dark purple cowl around it shoulders that were covered by iron pauldrons. On its chest was a glowing green emerald just like its owner and it also had golden rivets across its chest. Its head was the most intriguing part, as it appeared to be a metallic skull with giant black horns shaped like scythes protruding out of it like antlers. Its armed looked organic and had glowing green veins across its silvery skin that ended at its metallic clawed hands.

The man placed his hands to his chest and looked down at the urn.  
"My beloved, this is my promise fulfilled." He spoke.

His stand raised its left hand and with a powerful chop removed its owner's head clean off, causing a stream of blood to trickle out into the urn and the surrounding floor.

"FATHER!" Serica screamed in horror and was about to run to his side but was stopped when she heard the shuffling of sheets.  
She turned to the bed, only to find no one there. In fact, the sheets were nicely tucked in and stretched out, so it appeared there had been no one there at all.

Then a faint sound.

"Serica… My Serica…."

Serica's heart skipped a beat.

From the shadows a figure leaned over her shoulder.  
Seris.

"Do you not see how willing your father was to give up his own life for my Grand Scheme?" she spoke into her ear, the shadows still covering her face but the pale skin of her neck was visible, as well as her blonde hair.

"Mother…."

"Do you not see how willing your brother and sister were? Do you know what happened to them?" Seris asked her daughter, "Do you know how my baby boy was torn apart by the very thing he was gifted by Fate? Do you know how my baby girl was lit like a tinder by the villain that is your aunt?"

Serica started to cry, but the tears just bubbled up in her eyes.

"Why is it then that despite all these great and loving examples of the people closest to you that you could not do the same?"

"Mother! I tried to fight to the end! They wouldn't let me!" Serica cried out, "I didn't want to run away! I swear! I'm willing to fight again! Please! I can't let Sereno and Seres die in vain."

"They haven't. But you have."

A pale fist suddenly erupted from Serica's chest and was doused in blood.

"….. M-m-m-mother…." Serica softly whimpered when she looked down to see the arm protruding from her body.  
Everybody Dies in Their Nightmares appeared from within the young woman.

Seris saw this and raised her free hand, then drove her metal tipped fingers deep into Serica's neck.

Everybody Dies in Their Nightmares vanished when the sound of a loud snap was heard, and Serica's body went limp in her mother's arms.

It took a few moments for the blood that went out of the young woman's chest to stop flowing, and a few moments more for her skin to dry up. Then Seris removed her arms from her body and stepped back, letting fall to the ground.

"I have received my dose of blood." Seris spoke as she walked over to the father of her children.  
"But not from you, my beloved." She looked at the urn of his offering, "Your blood is too precious, for it gave life to a precious man who loved me to death. And from Death I will bring you back."

Seris raised her right arm over the man's neck and with her left arm made a huge cut across it, making her blood spew out.  
Unlike normal blood, this blood was a deep purple color, and it collectedly trickled down to its target.

"With your love for me and my Grand Scheme, I have no doubt it will be you that will guide your beloved to that blessed tomorrow."

The man's head, upon receiving this abyssal blood, started to draw itself nearer to his body and finally joined together. At that moment, the man's eyes shot open, and he took a deep breath.  
He sat up and rubbed his wound, which was quickly disappearing, and turned to the mother of his children.  
"My Beloved Seris."

"The glory of defeating our enemies I leave unto you, my beloved Androxus." Seris walked over to the nightstand and turned on the light.

This revealed the man in his full glory.  
A man of great stature and strength dotted in metal armor and dark purple clothes.  
But his face, his face was covered by an iron mask with green glass over the eyes.  
Only a few strands of dark born hair popping out from the top of the mask revealed any nature of his head to the world.

Seris returned to her bed and opened her book once again.

"I will do anything for you, my Queen."

Androxus' stand revealed itself once again and lunged at its master, then in a hint of darkness he was gone.

A long with Serica's body and any hint of light in the room.

"At least share passion with me before you leave…" Seris grumbled to herself as she rubbed her legs together.  
"After all, there is nothing in this world that fascinates me more than the empty nature of your stand."


End file.
